A View of the Future
by xenu1275
Summary: Gravely injured on a mission, Neji's future as a shinobi is in doubt. The road to recovery will lead places he never imagined ... Nejiten. Please review!
1. From the Jaws of Victory

Of all the missions assigned to shinobi, those requiring the capture of a fellow ninja were by far the most difficult. To kill was one thing, but to detain required strategy, finesse, and the careful modulation of one's usual techniques to avoid lethality. When the target was a ninja and not similarly bound to keep their opponent alive, the task became so difficult that it could be assigned only to the very best, the most reliable. To people like Neji Hyuuga.

His entire team was sent out with a directive to capture one Ryu Takada, a missing-nin from Iwagakure who had been wreaking havoc in the Land of Fire. It was vital that they know the extent of Iwa's complicity in Takada's crimes, so their orders explicitly forbade killing. Konoha wanted him alive, and whole enough for questioning. Tenten and Lee were standing at Neji's side when he received these instructions, and though the Hokage's words were meant for them too, it was on Neji, as the team captain and only _jounin_, that their burden fell most heavily. Success or failure was ultimately his responsibility.

They set out very early on a day in late autumn when the approaching winter could be seen as a frost on their breaths and felt as a tingling in their hands and feet. Already the days were shorter, and though the birds sang of the coming day from the woods on either side of the road, the sun had not yet risen. The predawn light was gray and bleak.

"I cannot see anything in these conditions!" said Lee. "I hope we do not find the target until after the sun has risen – I do not wish to miss a chance to take him down!"

"It's unlikely we'll meet him anytime soon," Neji replied calmly. "His last reported location was several hours from here."

"How old is that report?" asked Tenten. "Can we be sure he'll still be in the area?" She was walking with her hands tucked into her armpits, taking them out occasionally to blow warmth into her fingertips. Of all the members of Team Gai she was the most averse to cold weather; cold hands were liable to cramp and stick to metal weapons, and the practice of her jutsu prevented her from wearing proper gloves. To channel her chakra and accurately control her weapons, she had to leave her fingers bare, exposed to the chill biting air.

"We can be sure of nothing," was Neji's uncomforting reply. "He is a _chuunin_ from Iwa and hence likely to be capable of moving quickly."

"Not as quickly as us, though!" said Lee. He did a strange little leap and punched the air. "That is why we were chosen for this mission. There are no guarantees for a shinobi, Tenten-san, but I am nevertheless sure that we will find him and be successful in capturing him!"

Tenten's only response to this was a sigh; she and Neji had long since given up trying to puncture their teammate's enthusiasm. It was like trying to persuade the wind not to blow, and anyway, though Neji would rather die than admit it, he had come to rely on Lee for motivation and comic relief. "Just don't get too enthusiastic, Lee. Remember, we're to bring him in alive."

"Right!" said Lee. He punched the air again and gave a very convincing salute.

After some time they left the road to bear west, toward the target's last known location. By that time the sun had risen, casting wan golden rays on the forlorn forest, which looked oddly incomplete with half its foliage dropped to the ground and other half clinging stubbornly to the trees. In the sunlight they were able to leave the ground for the canopy and move quickly through the branches, picking up speed until they were moving faster than any other squad from the Leaf possibly could. Team Gai was swift and powerful, ideal for interception and combat.

"Aren't we in the area now?" asked Tenten. She sounded more cheerful now that sunlight plus vigorous activity had warmed her a bit. "Maybe you should turn it on, Neji."

She meant his Byakugan, of course. He didn't really care to hear others speak of 'turning it on' as though it was some vulgar machine controlled by a switch. Mere mechanics could never do justice to the delicate process of channeling enough chakra to his eyes to enable his remarkable vision, but not so much that he drained his own readiness to fight.

Still, he couldn't really fault her; she had no way of truly understanding what she spoke of. No one did, except a fellow Hyuuga. So in response to her he said only, "Activating it now." He made a few hand signs and began to modulate the flow of his own chakra, sending exactly the right amount into his eyes. "Byakugan!"

Everything changed; the drab dying forest was now alive with life and energy, pulsing and changing in a deeply complex web that encompassed everything from the smallest insects to the tallest oaks. He saw the frenzied activity of the squirrels as they rushed to stockpile food for the coming winter, and the lazy concentration of energy at the core of the sleepy trees, and the diffuse haze of chakra given off by the mulch of decaying vegetation on the ground. He saw it all, and even his cold focused mind had to admit that it was beautiful.

"What do you see, Neji-san?" Lee asked after a moment. As always when he spoke about Neji's _kekkei genkai_, his voice was colored by curiosity and a little awe. Once, not long after his surgery, Lee had asked Neji to describe what the world looked like through the Byakugan.

_"It looks … different," Neji said. He was not inarticulate, but he had no gift for poetry, or really anything besides ninjutsu. "It's sort of … blue."_

_"Blue?" Lee repeated avidly. "I see. What else?"_

_Neji conducted a frustrating and fruitless search through his own mind for an effective way to explain his gift to Lee. "Look," he said at last, "I don't think I can describe it so that you can really understand. I don't think it's possible for someone who's never used the Byakugan to fully understand it."_

_Lee blinked rapidly, processing that. Neji hoped he hadn't sounded condescending; the idea of treating Lee as an equal was still relatively new._

_"So you think that it is strictly a matter of experience, then?" Lee asked._

_"Yes, that's right," Neji replied with relief. "It's like trying to tell someone what the color red looks like – it's impossible if they haven't seen it for themselves."_

_Lee was silent a while longer. No way to tell what was going on behind those wide round eyes. "I'll ask Hinata," he declared finally._

_Neji stopped himself from rolling his eyes. "Fine, do that," he said._

Now though, Lee was not asking about the general view through the Byakugan, but rather about their quarry. Neji scanned the area carefully, turning his head to check his blind spot. "Nothing within one hundred meters," he said tersely. He increased his range. "Nothing within five hundred meters." He increased his range again, to a kilometer.

"Stop!" he ordered. Lee and Tenten both halted, Lee freezing awkwardly mid-leap. Neji dropped to the ground and they followed suit.

"There is a shinobi about eight hundred kilometers due east." He pointed. "He's wearing a slashed Iwa forehead-protector; I'm sure it's our target. And we're in luck – he appears to be sleeping. He's dug a pit and covered himself with branches, so he no doubt thinks he's invisible."

"Not invisible to you, though!" said Tenten with satisfaction.

Neji acknowledged that with a nod. "Tenten, I want you to go in first. Circle him at a radius of fifty meters and plant tripwires connected to exploding tags. But make sure that the charge on the tags isn't too strong – we want it strong enough to knock him out, but not kill him."

"Right!" she acknowledged.

"Go now," he ordered, and she moved off, fast and silent. He watched her for a few seconds before turning back to Lee.

"What will we do to catch him?" asked Lee in a tense whisper. He was holding himself rigid, but Neji could see his muscles quivering with excitement.

"First, I'll try to incapacitate him while he's still asleep," replied Neji. "I can use my _jyuuken_ to alter the flow of chakra in his brain and put him into a temporary coma. But if that fails, you need to be ready to help me engage him. We'll chase him into Tenten's perimeter."

Predictably, Lee looked a little disappointed. But he was disciplined, and all he said was, "I see."

They waited some minutes, giving Tenten time. At last Neji nodded and signaled his companion, and they moved off in the same direction she had. She had already laid wires across their path, but Neji saw them with ease and helped Lee to avoid them. They crept up on Takada's makeshift lair, visible to the unaided eye only as a strip of earth covered by long branches.

Neji held up a hand, indicating that Lee should wait at their current position. Then, as stealthily as he could, he advanced on the target. Soon he was within arm's reach of the tree branches, less than two meters from the figure lying beneath them. It appeared as though the man was still sleeping, for his eyes were closed and the circulation of his breath and chakra was even and regular. But that could be a ruse.

With agonizing slowness Neji crouched and reached toward Takada's head. A single touch would be enough …

Suddenly the branches exploded upward and a muscular figure clad in black and tan shot out from underneath them. Takada made rapid hand signs and called out, "Earth style: Rock wall jutsu!"

A thick stone barrier rose from the ground between Neji and Takada, uprooting trees to the right and left. It was about ten meters long and four high, too tall merely to leap over. On the other side, via his Byakugan, Neji saw the target take off running, no doubt hoping to put some distance between them.

Lee burst from cover and closed in on Takada rapidly; to the missing-nin he would resemble a green blur. But their quarry was fast, and before Lee reached him he had completed another sequence of hand signs and called "Earth style: Great Mud River!"

The ground beneath Lee's feet transformed, liquefying into thick brown slurry. Lee lost his balance and fell, still several meters from Takada. Takada wasted no time admiring his handiwork, just kept running at top speed.

In the meantime Neji had circumnavigated the earthen barrier and sprinted to Lee's position. By channeling chakra to his feet he traversed the slick ground with ease. Halting just long enough to pull his teammate to his feet, he yanked Lee after him and continued the chase. He was sorely tempted to use his _hakke_, his mid-range technique, to bring the target down, but in these surroundings that could easily slam the man up against a tree and kill him.

Having regained his footing Lee pulled away from Neji, shifting right. It was good strategy, as it kept the target from circling back the way he had come. Together Lee and Neji cut off Takada's rear avenue of escape, shepherding him outward.

Ahead, behind the trunk of a large tree, Neji discerned the crouched form of Tenten. She was completely still, a _kunai_ clutched in her right hand. Good; that meant their target was nearing the trap. Tenten would have chosen to lie in wait outside her perimeter, just in case Takada somehow broke through.

Neji and Lee were still some distance from Takada when he hit the tripwire; a dull explosion rent the air and a shockwave shoved hard on Neji's chest, knocking him back. Neji took in a lungful of dusty air and began to cough.

His eyes were closed to protect them from grit and flying debris, but his Byakugan could not be lidded. Through his own eyelids and the brown haze he saw that they had been successful, that their target was lying prone, unconscious but still very much alive. He rose slowly to his feet and moved cautiously forward to congratulate Tenten on her precision.

That's when he saw it, the cracked tree branch above Takada's head. Three meters long and half a meter thick where it met the trunk, it swayed ominously, creaking and groaning. It would fall any second and squash Takada flat.

Before he could call out a warning or act himself, a figure in green flew past him with a loud animal cry of "Noooooo!" Lee snatched up the unconscious man and leaped out of the vicinity, landing neatly some distance away. The branch broke off and fell, striking only empty ground.

Through settling leaves and more dust Neji walked over to join Lee, and out of the gloom Tenten appeared, a little dirty but unharmed.

"It must have been rotten," she said as soon as she saw him. "There no _way_ that charge was strong enough to take out a healthy branch. I checked it myself."

He turned his head to peer up at the tree in question. "It is rotten," he told her. "And even if it hadn't been, you did well not to kill him. And you, Lee – you saved our mission from failure." Giving praise did not come naturally to him, but it was a vital part of leadership. Neji had believed that even before Gai had forced him to spend an entire afternoon giving compliments to people, calling it "_jounin_ training."

"Yeah, though you could have done it without the insane shouting, Lee," Tenten pointed out. "I'm just lucky my hearing hadn't quite recovered from the explosion, or you might have damaged my eardrums."

"The enthusiasm of youth cannot be stifled," Lee answered stiffly. He hoisted Takada's limp form up to his shoulder. "Shall we return to the village now, before he wakes up?"

"Of course," said Neji. He gestured in the direction of Konoha and Lee started off at once, moving quite as quickly as if he hadn't had an unconscious adult male slung over his shoulder. Neji let him get a little ahead and then fell in to walk beside Tenten. "Just be grateful," he said to her in a low voice, "that it wasn't 'youth' this time. Don't you remember when he thought that was the ultimate battle cry?"

She snorted. "Of course I remember. And I guess you're right – from a certain perspective, this is progress."

***

About halfway home they halted, because in spite of his objections it was clear that Lee was tiring of his burden. "I'll carry him after we start off again," Neji said firmly.

It was now afternoon and they sat in a little clearing, bathed in sunlight that had become darker and richer since the morning. They would surely reach Konoha before nightfall, but Neji saw no reason to arrive bedraggled and exhausted. They rested, drinking water and eating whatever rations they had brought along.

"All things considered," said Tenten around a mouthful of food, "it was pretty easy, wasn't it? I mean, it's not every day you come across your enemy _asleep_."

"That's true," Neji agreed. "We were lucky."

"I do not consider it luck!" said Lee. "I did not even get a chance to throw one punch. It feels unsatisfying somehow."

Neji's eyes had shifted from Lee to the body at his feet. "It appears," he said slowly, "that our luck may be changing. He's waking up."

Neji did not have his Byakugan engaged, and had instead made his announcement based on the fact that Takada was moving, stirring slightly on the ground. Eventually he gave a small moan and rolled over. His eyes opened and met Neji's.

"Water," he croaked painfully.

"Should I knock him out?" asked Neji without taking his gaze from their prisoner.

"Can he take that, after being hit by an explosion?" Tenten wondered.

"Good question," said Neji. "I'm not really sure. Normally the procedure is harmless, but injury can change the chakra pathways temporarily. In this condition it might kill him."

"Please," the man croaked again. "Water."

Neji activated his Byakugan again and focused hard on the prisoner. It appeared he had taken a blow to the head, for his chakra flow in that region seemed disturbed. It was nothing life-threatening – unless of course the chakra were disturbed further.

"I won't risk putting him in a coma," said Neji decisively. "That means we'll have to take precautions. Lee, tie his hands and feet, and be sure to remove any weapons he's carrying."

Lee moved immediately to obey, crouching by the man's head and seizing his wrists. Tenten, who always carried such things, had removed two lengths of rope from her pack, and within seconds had securely tied Takada's feet. "Here, Lee," she said, handing the second coil over to him.

"_Wait_," said the man desperately. "Before you tie me up, I need some water. Please – I'm in so much pain." His voice was pleading, pathetic, and he made no move to resist as he was bound.

Neji scowled. He didn't have a lot of sympathy – from what he understood, Takada was guilty of some serious offenses, possibly including espionage. But in all of his alleged crimes, he had always stopped short of killing, and that earned him a little consideration.

"Fine," said Neji. "Sit up."

Assisted by Lee, Takada did as he was told. Neji removed the canteen from his own belt and held it out to the man, who snatched it up and began to drink greedily.

"You should drink your fill now," said Neji coldly. "We won't stop again until we reach Konoha, and then you'll be handed over to Ibiki."

Takada lowered the canteen and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. He looked quite pale and shaken at the mention of Konoha's chief interrogator, whose reputation reached throughout the five great ninja nations. "Won't I get some sort of medical treatment first?" he asked. "My head really hurts."

"That's not up to me," Neji replied. He was a bit embarrassed by the prisoner's obvious groveling; shinobi were supposed to comport themselves with more dignity. "Lee, pass me the rope. I'll tie his hands."

Takada took a final swig of water, handed the canteen off to Tenten, then held his hands out to Neji. His head jerked oddly to the side and his eyes suddenly seemed brighter, and in that instant Neji realized he hadn't heard the man swallow.

"Wha—" he had time to say, before Takada opened his mouth and spewed some yellowish substance at him, hitting him in the face. The liquid was in his eyes and it burned, and the pain was beyond anything Neji had ever experienced before.

It seemed he had lost control of his own voice, for he was yelling unintelligibly, doubled over with his hands pressed to his face. Dimly, as if from a great distance, he heard Tenten's voice, and then Lee's, and then the dull _thud_ of flesh hitting flesh. Just what it all meant he could not immediately ascertain; at this moment nothing was real except the agony. He writhed horribly and waited for it to end, and it did not.

But Neji was strong, he was disciplined, he was a _jounin_. He grabbed hold of the pain, embraced it, forced it to one side. It wasn't gone, but neither did it control him any longer.

"Neji, Neji!" Tenten was shouting frantically. She sounded panicked, and he realized that her hands were on his wrists, trying to pull his hands down to assess the damage. "Neji, let me see!"

"What—what happened?" he heard himself ask shakily. "What did he do?"

"There was something in his mouth," said Lee's voice, coming from somewhere beside Tenten. "Something, that when he mixed it with water …"

"Let me _see_," Tenten insisted, and finally Neji let her pull his hands down.

Her gasp told him all he needed to know.

"Describe it," he ordered firmly.

"Oh Neji," Tenten whispered tearfully, "you … your eyes …"

Then it hit him, what had been previously obscured by confusion and pain. For the first time since his Byakugan awakened at the age of three, he couldn't see at all. For the first time he could remember, he was truly blind.


	2. Sources of Inspiration

It took him some time to realize he was awake, because the darkness did not lighten at all as he gained consciousness. He could hear the sounds of machines beeping, fabric rustling, shoes tapping on tile. He could taste cold antiseptic air, and smell disinfectant. He could feel cool fabric underneath his hands. But he saw nothing.

Footsteps clacked across a floor, and then there was someone very close, their breathing steady and loud.

"You're awake," said a familiar voice.

"Sakura," said Neji. His voice came out rather hoarse and raspy.

"That's right," she replied. "I'm going to help you sit up now."

A hand touched his shoulder, slid gently underneath it. Neji felt a surge of annoyance; he was not some invalid who needed help sitting up like a baby. He braced his hands on the bed and pushed forcefully upward, bringing himself upright much faster than was advisable. His head reeled and began to throb with pain, and for one disconcerting moment he thought he might fall backward again.

"I'll bet that hurt," said Sakura, with a bite in her voice. "It's stupid to push yourself when you just came out of surgery."

That caught him. He turned his head, straining in vain to discern anything through the darkness. "Surgery? What kind of surgery?"

She hesitated a moment. "On your face," she said at last. "To repair some of the damage. We told you we were going to try it, and you agreed. Do you remember?"

Neji groped back through the fog in his brain, trying to recall. They had captured Takada, and stopped to rest. Then Takada had done something, spat some kind of corrosive substance into his eyes, and he'd been blinded. What followed was just a jumbled nightmare, a hellish trek through the woods that went on for subjective eons. He'd been led by Tenten, who was crying, and he'd wanted nothing more than to succumb to the pain and the darkness, but he couldn't, he was the captain, he was a _jounin._ Pride had kept him on his feet as far as the hospital, and whatever he'd said or done after that was lost in the horror of it all.

"Yes," he lied. "I remember. What were the results of the surgery?" Tentatively, he raised his hands to his face, and was met with the touch of rough cloth, extending from the top of his forehead to just above his mouth. He suddenly wondered if his curse mark was visible.

Sakura sighed. "Neji-san, we did everything we could. Lady Tsunade … was up all night working on you. We had to threaten her to get her to rest. We managed to regrow the skin on your face, and though there'll be some scarring, it should be minor. Cosmetically, you'll soon look much like you did before."

He couldn't believe she was focusing on such trivialities. "My _eyes_," he spat. "What about my _eyes_?"

There was a quaver in her voice when she answered him. "The acid the Stone-nin used was exceptionally powerful. We think he was supposed to swallow it in the event of capture -- it was meant to eat a human body up from the inside out. But it seems he found another use for it. It completely dissolved his tongue, making him incapable of talking to Ibiki. And when he spat it at you … it also dissolved your eyes."

He was silent a moment. "And you cannot regenerate them, the way you did my skin?" Even as he asked the question, he already knew the answer.

"No," she answered softly. "Regrowing skin … well, that's just a matter of accelerating a process your body does anyway. But we have no way of regenerating an organ once it's completely destroyed."

"I see." There was nothing else to say.

"There's always the possibility of a transplant, Neji. Your optic nerve is still intact, and Lady Tsunade is optimistic that we'll be able operate once a—a donor is found."

"You mean once someone dies."

"Well, yes."

"But even in the event you do find someone, they probably won't be a Hyuuga. My Byakugan is gone forever." He wanted to say it now, to get it out in the open where he could confront it directly.

"Yes. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. It was mine." His tone was flat and merciless; he had no intention of sparing himself.

"I'm going to get you some water," Sakura said. "You should drink something, and maybe eat some food too. I'll be back soon." Her footsteps faded into silence, leaving him alone in the dark.

***

It was more than a week before he consented to allow his teammates to visit, though he was told they'd been coming every day since they got back, and that Gai had even been caught trying to sneak into his room in a stolen nurse's uniform.

"He was in the doorway before we stopped him," Sakura told him. "And you should know, he makes an exceptionally ugly woman."

"I can imagine," Neji replied. "It's enough to make me glad I can't see."

Sakura had been bustling around the room, straightening things up for Team Gai's visit, but at this the sound of her movement stopped.

"I-I guess so," she said uncertainly. He could understand her confusion – she'd probably never heard him make a joke before, much less one at his own expense. But he was determined to present a face of casual unconcern to his comrades, regardless of what he might actually be feeling. It was the best defense against pity, which he found intolerable.

Team Gai's approach was audible even before they entered his room. Gai's loud voice boomed down the corridor: "Make way, make way! The ambassadors of youth are on a mission!"

Then they burst through the doorway, and Neji, who'd been practicing distinguishing sounds, thought he could make out Gai's heavy stomping, Lee's slightly softer and faster footsteps, Tenten's light tread.

Gai spoke first, naturally. "Neji! My student! As expected only a week after your injury, you look well!" Blind as he was, Neji could practically see his teacher's white teeth gleaming.

He sincerely doubted that he 'looked well,' since he was wearing bandages over both eyes and the exposed skin of his face was still healing. But then Gai's aesthetics had never been exactly normal, as evidenced by his fondness for green jumpsuits and orange leg warmers.

"Neji," said Tenten, in a voice somewhat huskier than usual, "you really do look better than … the last time I saw you. How do you feel?"

He'd never noticed it before, but running underneath her words was the subtle sound of clanging, metal striking metal.

He turned his face toward her, or at least he hoped he did. "I am not in any pain. But Tenten, did you come here armed?"

She gasped. "Yes! I left my scroll behind, but I just don't feel right without my _kunai_. Can – can you see me?"

He shook his head. "No, I can't. But I can hear the _kunai_ hitting one another. You should try to dampen the sound somehow, or you'll never succeed in sneaking up on your enemies."

"That is impressive!" exclaimed Lee. "Deprived of your vision, you are relying on your other senses!" It was hard to tell, since Lee was over-the-top as a matter of course, but Neji thought his words sounded rather forced. "And by the way, Neji, just when will you regain your vision?"

"Lee!" Tenten hissed. "What a stupid thing to say, when we don't know if … if…" She couldn't say it.

Neji said it for her. "I will not be regaining my vision," he told them baldly. "Sakura has informed me that my eyes were completely destroyed. There is nothing to repair."

A terrible moment followed during which no one spoke or even breathed. Finally Gai cleared his throat and shuffled a little closer to the bed. "Neji," he said seriously, "I have been your teacher since you graduated from the Academy. You were the best I'd ever seen. In some ways it was hard to teach you, because you never seemed to need my help at all. But now you do. I will put everything I have into helping you regain your former skill. For someone else it might not be possible, but for you, the greatest genius of the mighty Hyuuga clan, I think it is." Gai clapped a huge hand onto Neji's back, striking him awkwardly and a little too hard between the shoulder blades.

Neji supposed he ought to be grateful that Gai hadn't hugged him, as he was wont to do with Lee. "Gai-sensei," he said, "I am grateful for your offer. But in all your years as a shinobi, have you ever heard of a blind ninja?"

Gai considered the question. "No I haven't, Neji. But before Lee here I had never heard of a ninja who couldn't perform _ninjutsu_ or _genjutsu_ either. With enough effort anything is possible."

Neji had been expecting something like this, and knew that Gai really believed what he said. But Neji was not a man of faith. He was practical and ruthless, with himself as well as others. "That is your creed, Gai-sensei. I respect it, but I am not sure I share it."

Tenten made an odd sort of hiccupping noise, and Neji thought she must be suppressing more tears. "But, then, Neji, what will you do?"

He bowed his head slightly, a tiny acknowledgement of defeat. "I don't know," he answered honestly. All week long, ever since he understood the magnitude of his disability, he had wracked his brains and failed to come up with an answer to that very question.

Sandals scuffed on the floor. "Neji-san!" said Lee urgently, and Neji turned in the direction of his teammate's voice. "Of course you must make your own decisions, but please hear me out!"

Neji nodded fractionally. "Of course Lee. You know I value your opinion." This had not always been true, but it was now.

Lee took a deep breath. Neji pictured him standing up straighter, squaring his shoulders the way he always did before an important declaration. "Neji-san, it cannot have escaped your attention that your current situation resembles the predicament in which I found myself after the preliminary rounds of our first _chuunin_ exam."

"There is a certain similarity," Neji conceded, "but Lady Tsunade—"

"Please let me finish, Neji-san!" Neji fell silent in surprise as Lee cut him off. "After I was injured in my fight with Gaara-sama, I was told that my career as a shinobi was over. I could not accept that, and then Lady Tsunade offered me a surgery that had the chance to give me back my life, but at a fifty percent risk of death."

Neji bit back his impatience – he knew all this, it was old news, so why was Lee telling him?

"You know all that of course," Lee continued. "What you do _not_ know is that I was conflicted about the surgery – I wanted to be a ninja again, but I did not want to die. It was Gai-sensei who explained it to me. He told me I should take the surgery, because like him I am incapable of living without my ninja way. Pain, hardship, ridicule, death – they were not more frightening to me than the thought of giving up my dream. In the end the most important thing to a ninja is not his life, but his way." Lee stopped at last, panting slightly.

"Your way," said Neji slowly, "is not my way, Lee. I cannot deny the reality of my situation."

"Yes, your way is different!" Lee shot back. "If you will forgive me, I have thought since you were defeated by Naruto-kun that your way is to become strong enough to shape your own destiny. It is a _good_ goal. It has made you very strong. But if you give up now, without even _trying_, you will be _betraying_ your way, surrendering to fate. Is it not true that you still want to be a ninja?"

Neji sat back. He was taciturn in general and rarely spoke about himself; he had not expected Lee to understand him and his goals so well. "Of course I want it," he said, unable to prevent a little irritation from entering his voice. "But that has nothing to do with whether it is possible or not."

"It has _everything_ to do with it! Naruto-kun and Hinata-san and I are all shinobi today because we believed that wanting a goal and working hard for it are enough to make it real. To never give up is part of our way, and it has taken us all farther than anyone thought we could go. But perseverance in the face of injury is part of your way too, Neji-san! You are the man who, as a _genin_, defeated Kidomaru! You became a _jounin_ at the age of fifteen! You have created your destiny with your own hands, and you _still can_!"

Lee had become increasingly agitated as his impassioned speech went on, and by its conclusion he was nearly shouting. "Oh Lee!" exclaimed Gai, in that weepy sentimental tone he sometimes took, "That was beautiful! Truly you have surpassed me – I could not have said it better myself!" Then there was a lot of rustling.

Neji had a horrible suspicion he knew what was going on. "They're hugging now, aren't they?" he asked Tenten in a low voice.

"Of course," she replied. She still sounded upset. "But you know Neji, Lee's got a point. Giving up before making an effort -- it just doesn't seem like you."

Tenten too … He thought about that.

Gai and Lee were still blubbering – the word "youth" figured prominently. "Stop!" said Neji sharply. Abruptly the noise ceased. Neji savored the silence for a few seconds. "Lee, I don't say this to you very often, but … you're right. I _do_ still want to be a ninja. It is the only future I have ever imagined for myself. I convinced myself that it was no longer possible, but I guess there is a chance I'm in error about that – you all seem to think so, and over the years I have come to trust your judgment. I suppose—"

"Yes?" Lee interrupted eagerly.

Quick precise footsteps, accompanied by a clanging noise, moved across the floor. Then Neji heard a soft _slap_. "Shhh!" Tenten hissed.

"I suppose," Neji continued, "that I should at least _try_ to make it as a ninja, before deciding it cannot be done. I will … make the effort, and I"—it was a distasteful thing to say, but he'd sworn not to spare himself –"will need your help to do it."

Lee cheered loudly, and could be heard leaping up and down. This was to be expected. Unexpected, though, was Tenten's reaction. She gave a watery shriek, and, without any warning at all, threw her arms around him.

"Neji!" she sobbed against his shoulder, "I'm so glad! You just _can't_ break up our team!"

He patted her back awkwardly and tried to shift away from the _kunai _digging into his side. Eventually she let go of him, sniffing.

"I expect this kind of overt sentimentality from Gai and Lee," he said dryly, "but not from you, Tenten. And you poked me with a _kunai_."

She gasped, and there was the sound of slapping again – he imagined her clapping her hands against her face. "Sorry!" she said. "I forgot I had it! I've just been so worried about you, Neji. We all have."

"That," he said with dignity, "is why you should not come armed to the hospital."

Then Gai's voice boomed out, _much_ too close. "Neji! My student! I am so proud you have chosen the way of effort!"

Neji knew an unaccustomed thrill of fear. At least when Tenten had been hugging him, that meant that Gai _hadn't_. He held out his hands in front of him to ward off his sensei. It was possible that he would have to use his _hakke_, regardless of who else he hit …

"I will make a fervent vow to you now, Neji, to find the best and most effective way to train you! If I can't, I'll run to Suna and back in a single day – _on my hands_!"

Neji had a sudden vision, clearer by far than his view through the Byakugan had ever been. He saw himself standing on the training grounds while Gai ran around him, throwing various projectiles at his head and shouting "Use your 'guts sensor,' Neji! Your GUTS SENSOR!" He shuddered.

"Gai-sensei," he said, "if you don't mind, I would like to ask a favor of you."

"A favor?" Gai asked. "Of course! Anything, just name it!"

If he'd still had them, Neji would have bet both of his eyes that Gai was currently giving a thumbs-up. "Yes, thank you," he said. "The favor is this: I would like you to consult with Lady Tsunade and Kakashi about my training."

"Consult … Kakashi?" Gai was crestfallen.

"Yes. I think he and Lady Tsunade would have some good ideas. Remember that Kakashi normally uses only one eye."

Gai sucked in a breath, let it out in a noisy percussive exhalation. "You've asked a very difficult thing of me, Neji. Humbling myself enough to consult my greatest rival will be difficult. But for your sake, I'll do it."

Neji felt as though he'd narrowly avoided catastrophe. Gai was crazy, but he wouldn't ignore advice that had a chance of actually helping one of his students.

It took a while after that to get his team out of his room. Eventually Sakura told them irritably that they were disturbing the other patients, and that visiting hours were over anyway. As his teammates filed out, Neji felt a measure of relief. Partly that was because he was going to regain some peace and quiet at last, but mostly it was because, even minus his Byakugan, somehow they were all still Team Gai.

***

Not long after his their footsteps faded, Sakura's voice sounded again from the doorway.

"I lied about the visiting hours," she told him without a hint of shame.

"Because of the noise?"

"Partly. But mostly because you have another visitor."

He was puzzled for a moment, until he heard a soft voice say, "Hello, Neji nii-san."

He stiffened. "Hinata-sama."

"M-may I come in?"

"Yes."

She entered the room, and in contrast to the crisp gait of his teammates, she shuffled. In the background he heard Sakura depart.

There was a moment of awkward silence, not necessarily related to his present condition. Things had never been exactly comfortable between Neji and his cousin, both because of the tension between their families and because of their radically different temperaments. They had come to a certain understanding, even trained together occasionally, but that was only enough to decrease the uneasiness between them, not erase it entirely.

"How do you feel, nii-san?" she asked finally.

"I am not in any pain," he replied. "And I am told that I will be discharged in a few days."

"That's good," she said. "Father and I heard very dire reports at first. We were concerned about you."

"Then, Lord Hyuuga knows about my condition?"

"Yes, we were informed the day you arrived."

"I see." He actually got along with Hiashi far better than Hinata, but that was because Hiashi valued him for his talent. Now that that talent was gone, he wondered what his uncle thought of him. Or if his uncle thought of him at all.

Hinata cleared her throat softly. "I c-couldn't help but hear your teammates talking as they left."

"That's understandable. They're hard to ignore."

"Yes, well, it sounds as if you mean to keep training?"

"That's right."

"I am very glad to hear that, nii-san. That is … part of the reason I came here today." She took a deep breath, gathering her courage. "I would like to, um, offer to help you, if I can. Of course your teammates will be more useful, but you might sometimes want to consult another _jyuuken_ user. I-if that is ever the case, please don't hesitate to ask me."

"That is very generous, Hinata-sama." It _was_ generous, and undeserved. He had, after all, once tried to kill her. But she had always been better than him at forgiveness.

"It's not generosity, nii-san. It is not pity either. You helped me to train when my own father thought it was a waste of time. Without you, I would not have become a _chuunin_. I just want a … a chance to repay you."

Privately he thought that she was determined enough to have become a _chuunin_ even without his help. It was like her, though, to phrase an offer like this as though he were the one doing the favor, not her. "Thank you," he told her gravely. "It may be that I will need your help. I'm still not sure what I'll be able to do, with my vision gone."

"I'm sure you'll be able to do a lot," she replied with a quiet certainty in her voice. "Even the weakest person can find a way to make a difference. And you are far from weak. You are a genius. You were a fine shinobi, and you will be again."

From Lee, these same ideas had sounded a little silly, if still heartening. From Hinata, though, with her gentle assuredness, they had the ring of truth. He found himself temporarily at a loss for words.

"It's not just me who feels that way, you know," she added. "It's Father as well. He has always been impressed with you. He told us – me and Hanabi – not to feel sorry for you, because if anyone could handle something like this, it was you."

He should say something. He tried to, but all that came out was his old standby, "Hn."

"Th-that's all I really came here to say, Neji nii-san." Something small dimpled the bedclothes; she had reached out and laid her hand beside his, almost but not quite touching him. "That Father and I both believe in you."

At last he managed to speak, even though it was only a rough, "Thank you."

"Goodbye, nii-san. I will see you soon." She withdrew her hand and exited quietly.

"Right, soon," he said stupidly into the silence.


	3. Lessons in Sound and Dependence

**A/N: Special thanks to reviewer mafalda for pointing out the annoying repetition of a certain idea in the last chapter. The problem has since been corrected, and I am grateful to have received the constructive criticism. It is very difficult for a writer to evaluate his or her own work objectively, which is why attentive and helpful readers are so important.**

In an hour he was to be released to his team, who would escort him directly from the hospital to the training grounds. "No use in wasting time!" Gai had proclaimed enthusiastically, and for once Neji agreed with him.

Neji was ready to leave, whiling away the remaining time in meditation. That, at least, was something he could do better without his sight – less distraction. Other seemingly basic skills had proved unexpectedly difficult to perform blind, and it was only a few days ago that he had finally succeeded in dressing himself without assistance. It had been humiliating to call for help with something so personal, when he was accustomed to seeing everyone else's weaknesses and concealing his own.

He had taken a few tentative steps down a long hard road; if he meant to walk it to the end he would surely have to endure many more indignities.

"Neji-san?" called a voice from the doorway. It was Sakura again; he had seen – no, _heard_—her every day since the surgery. Apparently she was the primary medic-nin assigned to his case. When they were both _genin_ he hadn't thought very much of her, had written her off as weak and useless, but her skill and professionalism over the past few days had impressed him. She was good at what she did and she never coddled him.

"Yes? Is my team already here?" That would be like them.

"No. But before you leave, Lady Tsunade wanted to speak with you. I'm to walk you to her office." Tsunade kept an office at Konoha's hospital, for use when she was on site for consultations or surgeries.

He had been sitting cross-legged on top of his bed, and now he swung his legs over the side and stood up. Confidently he made his way across the room to the doorway; during his convalescence he had paced out every inch of his surroundings and could now navigate them with ease.

The world beyond the doorway, of course, was another matter entirely. Sakura let him come to her position without interference, then lightly took his arm to lead him. That had been something else to adjust to – being touched. Except in the throes of battle, when he might need to engage in hand-to-hand combat or rescue a teammate, Neji rarely touched other people or allowed them to touch him. It was a matter of respect, of appropriateness – things that Neji had a keen sense for. But the simplest way to assist a blind man was often to lead him by the hand, and so he had had to submit to more physical contact during his stay in the hospital than during the whole rest of his ninja career. For now there was no escaping it, though finding a way to navigate without assistance was high on his list of priorities. If he ever needed to get somewhere quickly, Lee would be only too happy to carry him, and this was an eventuality Neji fervently wished to avoid.

"Here we are," said Sakura after they had gone down a hallway, up two flights of stairs, and down another hallway. She rapped twice on a door and then pushed it open without waiting for a response. Together they went inside.

"Neji Hyuuga. I was told you'd healed quickly, and I see it's true." The Hokage's voice was husky and confident. "You may leave, Sakura. His team has already been instructed to pick him up here."

"Yes, my lady," Sakura murmured. She left, opening the door and then closing it softly behind her. Neji turned in place a little to face Tsunade more squarely.

Leather creaked as Tsunade leaned back in her chair to address him. "If I had just wanted to assess your condition," she said, "I could have asked Sakura or gone to your room myself. But I want to speak to you about another matter, in a more professional setting where we can be assured of privacy."

He nodded to indicate his comprehension.

"I have spoken with Gai, and he tells me you're going to resume training today."

"Yes."

"He asked me for some suggestions, and I gave him some. But whether or not you'll be able to function as a shinobi without your sight – that's a question even I can't answer. Only time will tell."

"If I was Lee," replied Neji, "now is the time I would proclaim my certainty that I will succeed. But I am not certain. All I can say is that I mean to try."

"That," said Tsunade, "is the kind of good sense I have come to expect from you. That, at least, hasn't changed. But you must appreciate that everything else has. For all intents and purposes, you have become a completely different ninja, with as-yet-undetermined skills. It would be foolish to pretend otherwise."

"I understand," said Neji, and he did. But where was this going?

She sighed. "When you were fifteen you were made a _jounin_, at my personal recommendation." He absorbed that in silence – he hadn't known she'd been the one responsible. "But the responsibilities of a _jounin_ are dangerous and important, and can't be entrusted to someone we don't have absolute confidence in. Too many lives would be at risk."

He understood now, dimly, what she was trying to say. He wished she'd just get it out. "Hokage-sama, are you demoting me?"

Another sigh. "I'm afraid so, Neji. You simply can't continue as a _jounin_ until we're sure you're up to the task."

"So I'm … a _chuunin_ now?"

Leather creaked again. "_Chuunin _are qualified to lead their own squads. No, for now you are a _genin_, on special assignment under Might Gai."

A _genin_, at his age. He rather wished Sakura had led him to a chair before leaving; the news would have been easier to take sitting down. But she hadn't, so he remained stoically on his feet. The only outward sign of his displeasure was his hands, now curled into fists. "I see," he said coldly, not trusting himself to say more.

"I appreciate how galling this must be, Neji" – he doubted she did – "but I've thought it over and there's no other way. I was advised by certain people to put you under the care of one of the instructors at the Academy, Iruka perhaps, but I've decided instead to leave your team intact." She snorted. "Gai pleaded your case quite eloquently, something about having to walk to Suna on his hands if he couldn't train you."

"Hn," was his only response. Would he have continued, if he'd been sent back to train under Iruka? He wasn't sure himself.

"All of this is only temporary, Neji. You've been demoted on my order, and my order can make you a _chuunin_, or even a _jounin_, again. Work hard, convince me you can handle it, and I'll be more than happy to restore your rank."

He wished his team would hurry up and arrive. There was no chance of resuming his meditation now, and there was a dense sphere of fury lodged in his gut that only vigorous training would dispel. He hadn't felt like this since before the finals of his first _chuunin_ exams, when he'd fought Naruto Uzumaki. In a few seconds that missing-nin had erased his life's work, and all he could think about was getting it back.

***

Unsurprisingly, Lee offered to carry Neji from the hospital to the training grounds. Neji pictured himself being carried through the streets of Konoha on Lee's back while the entire town looked on.

"If you touch me, Lee, I'll use my _kaiten_, and I don't care who else I hit."

Tenten stepped closer to him and seized his sleeve. "_I'll_ lead you," she said firmly, and Neji consented to that. She had enough sense to avoid the busiest streets, where crowds might jostle him and where he ran the risk of becoming a spectacle. In no time at all they had reached their old training grounds at the edge of town, where the sound of the wind sighing through high grasses and the smell of the nearby forest brought back memories of numerous sparring matches, countless hours spent at practice. Now he'd have to do it all again.

Gai was there waiting for them, having opted not to come to the hospital. "Neji! Tenten! Lee! My students, together again at the training ground! It takes me back, makes me feel youthful!"

"You know Gai," said a deep, laid-back voice from nearby, "that time, 'youthful' actually seemed to fit."

"Kakashi-sensei?' asked Neji in surprise. "He's here?"

"Of course!" said Gai. "I promised you I would consult him, even though it wounded me deeply. So here he is, ready to help us. Isn't that right, Kakashi?"

There was a long moment during which Neji heard nothing.

"Um, excuse me, Kakashi-sensei, but I do not believe Neji-san can see that," said Lee.

"What?" said Neji.

"Kakashi-sensei waved at you," Tenten explained.

"Uh, right, sorry about that Neji," said Kakashi, sounding rather chagrinned. "I was thoughtless …"

"Thank you for coming," said Neji, choosing to ignore the _faux pas_. "But surely you have more important things to do?"

"A small investment of time now to save a lot of time later … "

Clearly he was still missing something.

"Kakashi and I made a trade," said Gai. "He'll help me train you now, and in return I'll … I'll refrain from issuing him any more challenges for a month."

"We agreed on _two_ months, Gai."

"Right right, two months then. More than enough time for him to recover from all of his losses to me."

"My thoughts exactly, Gai."

Tenten still had a hold of his sleeve, and Neji could feel her shaking with silent laughter.

Naturally Lee missed the humor. "That is quite a sacrifice, Gai-sensei!" he said in awe. "Taking a break from your unending rivalry! Truly you would do anything for your students!"

"Yes Lee, I would. The Green Beast of Konoha stops at nothing to accomplish his goals!"

Sensing another hug in the offing, Neji cleared his throat and said loudly, "Kakashi-sensei, I would like to hear any ideas you might have. You normally go about your business with only one eye uncovered. Doesn't that leave you with a blind side?"

"It does," replied Kakashi. "Of course in really tough situations I uncover the left eye so I can use my Sharingan, but you might think that that still leaves me vulnerable to ambush."

"You would be wrong to think that," Gai put in. "I've tried to ambush Kakashi any number of times, and to my shame I've never succeeded."

"You'd have better luck, Gai, if you didn't scream 'Behold the power of youth!' before every attack."

"A good motto is as indispensable to a ninja as his weapons, Kakashi. Surely you must know that."

"Uh, sure Gai, whatever." Clearly Kakashi had no intention of arguing the point, which in Neji's experience was wise. Logic did not translate well into Gai-speak. "Anyway, Neji, the reason I can avoid ambushes even with my left eye covered is that I take a two-step approach to awareness of my surroundings."

Neji thought about that. "I'm not quite sure what you mean," he confessed.

"The second step, the one I take in situations of close combat, is to rely on my Sharingan. But the first step is the one that tells me when that's necessary, when a threat is approaching."

"Are you saying that you rely on some other sense when your left eye is covered?"

There was an awkward pause.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Tenten hesitantly. "Aren't you going to answer Neji's question?"

"S-sorry," Kakashi said. He sounded dazed. "I just wasn't ready for you to get the point of what I was saying so quickly. I'm used to training Naruto, remember, and with him it takes a while to get through."

Neji snorted. "I can imagine. So you _do_ rely on some other sense to cover your blind spot."

"Er, yes. Hearing. I concentrate my chakra in my ears to pick up sounds at a greater range of frequencies and volumes than is normally possible. This lets me keep 'watch' on my surroundings without using my eyes at all. But there _is_ a problem."

"Localizing it," said Tenten promptly. She let go of his sleeve, probably to make gestures as she spoke. "I remember, I was trying to learn how to target my _kunai_ by sound, and it was really hard. I'd throw to where I though a sound was coming from, only to discover that I was completely off."

"That's right," said Kakashi approvingly. "It's very hard for the average person to correctly identify the source of a sound. But that difficulty can be overcome, through practice."

"Yes!" said Gai. "Strength is acquired through effort!"

Kakashi sighed, and Neji heard him say "Two months," under his breath. More loudly, he said, "First, you'll have to get the hang of channeling the correct amount of chakra to your ears. Too little and you won't pick up enough ambient sound, but too much and you could hurt yourself, be wounded even by normal speech. It's a matter of fine chakra control, which you're already fairly good at because of your _juuken_. I placed an object in the woods nearby, which should be making a noise that's too faint for the others to hear. I want you to focus your chakra in your ears and listen for the sound. We'll know you've succeeded when you can tell me what the object is."

Neji nodded once, then brought his hands together in the first sign used to activate the Byakugan. Of course he couldn't use his _kekkei genkai_ now, but the posture helped him concentrate. He channeled chakra to his ears and immediately began to hear _more_. There were the heartbeats of his teammates, low tappings that gradually loudened to crashing drumbeats. Their blood hissed as it coursed through their veins, a gentle susurration at first, increasing to a mighty roar. Then there were the animal sounds, cacophonous and overwhelming, insects screaming like sirens and squirrels chittering like the crash of boulders and smaller things, ants maybe, stomping like elephants upon the ground …

"That's probably too much," said Kakashi mildly, except to Neji his voice thundered like a god's, bringing pain. Neji gasped and dropped to the ground, his hands covering his ears. Over the painful _thud _of his own pulse he had the presence of mind to decrease the supply of chakra to his ears, and at last everything returned to normal.

"I told you," Kakashi admonished, "not to overdo it. Like a flash of light can hurt your eyes, an overabundance of sound can hurt your ears."

Neji, still on the ground, nodded. "I understand now." To his right he heard footsteps; Tenten was approaching him, her concern palpable. He warned her off with an outstretched hand. "I'm fine," he said, and stood up on his own.

Again he clasped his hands together and channeled chakra to his ears, but this time he took it slowly, in stages. His auditory world became rich and layered, every bit as detailed as the world of sight he'd once taken for granted. And this time he discerned something else, too pure to be natural, a high clear ringing. He heard it once, then again, irregular but also familiar.

"A bell," he said, his own voice loud but not unbearable. "The object you placed nearby is a bell." He unclasped his hands and returned his chakra flow to normal.

Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Very good, Neji! It took me much longer to hit on the correct level of chakra. Remember that amount; it's the one you'll want to use most of the time."

"Right."

"The next goal is focus, learning to tell the precise direction a sound is coming from and how far away it is. If you can learn to do that, you'll be able to identify threats before they ever get close enough to touch you."

"And for that," said Gai, who'd been remarkably quiet through all of this, "your whole team is going to help you!"

More bells rang, first from a single location and then from many. "Both of your teammates and Gai are holding bells," said Kakashi. "They're going to stand around you at varying distances and locations, and ring their bells in turn. Tenten will place a collection of _kunai_ on the ground beside you, and your job is to throw a _kunai _every time you hear a bell, and try to hit the source."

"Isn't that dangerous?" asked Neji. "I could hit one of my teammates."

"Well," said Kakashi, and Neji pictured him shrugging, "everyone here is at least a _chuunin_," – _except for me_, thought Neji – "and is capable of dodging or catching a _kunai_ if necessary. Though at first, they'll be in more danger when you're _not_ trying to hit them. Sound location is very hard."

Tenten approached him again, and dropped something onto the ground near his feet. Metallic clangs told him it was a collection of _kunai_.

"Here they are, Neji," she said. "On the ground on your right. These are some of my best, the ones that are balanced perfectly and fly truest. They'll go where you throw them."

"Thank you." He was unsurprised that she had catalogued her weapons according to which were best balanced. Probably she had named them all too.

Gai, Lee, and Tenten took up positions around him as Neji stooped to gather up a few _kunai_. "Kakashi-sensei, you do not have a bell," Lee observed. "What will you be doing?"

"Well, this will take a while, so I thought I would read my book. But I'll be nearby if there are any questions, over there under that tree."

"Kakashi, my rival, your attitude of cool unconcern never ceases to infuriate me," said Gai. "Neji, let's master this before he finishes his book. If we cannot, the entire team will do a hundred laps around the village!"

Lee cheered, Tenten sighed heavily, and Neji felt his features settling into a familiar scowl. If there was one thing Gai excelled at, it was in giving his students a _unique_ brand of motivation.

***

Neji knew the end of the day by the cold bite of the wind and his own exhaustion. Then too, through his newly enhanced hearing, he could hear the barking of foxes and the hooting of owls, night animals laying claim to their domain.

From _there_, behind him and to the left, at a distance of maybe twenty meters, came the sound of Kakashi snapping his book shut.

"It's about that time," said Gai's chief rival with a yawn. "You've been at this all day, and it's time to rest."

"I am not tired, I will stay up all night to help Neji-san!" said Lee. Unbelievably, he really didn't sound as if he'd lost any energy at all – he was as hyper now as he'd been in the morning.

Gai also sounded unfazed by the day's training. "Your enthusiasm is admirable, Lee! And you, Kakashi, would do well not to underestimate my students, who are overflowing with the energy of youth! By all means, go home and sleep, if you're worn out by your hard day of _reading_."

Of course Kakashi didn't rise to the extremely obvious bait. Fabric scratched on skin – was he pulling his mask down? – and then he said, "I don't know about youth, Gai, but with my Sharingan I can see that Neji's chakra is dangerously low. The rest of you have just been moving around in a rather small area, but he's been channeling chakra to his ears all day. Any more, and he'll faint from exhaustion. How do you think Lady Tsunade and Sakura would react if you sent him back to the hospital on the same day he got out?"

This was a point even Gai couldn't ignore. Being beaten into a bloody pulp by the Hokage herself was not especially youthful. "I … see your point, Kakashi. But did you only choose this moment because you finished your book?"

"Well yes, as a matter of fact, but that's no reason to –"

"Then a hundred laps around the village it is! Lee, Tenten, Neji, let's go!"

Gai had actually run a few paces before he noticed that nobody was following him. "Lee?" he asked incredulously.

"Gai-sensei, if Neji-san does not have enough chakra to continue standing here in one place, does it not seem reasonable that he would also lack sufficient chakra to run around the village a hundred times?"

Neji thought he could almost hear Gai's mind working. "Good point, Lee," he said finally. "But a self-rule cannot be broken, and though Neji improved greatly over the course of the day, he has not yet mastered sound-location. Hence we must do the laps!"

"Perhaps, sensei, in extraordinary circumstances like these, a self-rule should be …_bent_ slightly." Lee sounded scared even suggesting such a thing.

"_Bent_?" Gai growled. "What do you mean?"

"We will still do the laps, sensei, and we will still do one hundred for each team member. You will do your own plus Neji-san's, for a total of two hundred. And I will do mine plus Tenten-san's, which will _also_ add up to two hundred."

"Shouldering the burden of a comrade's self-rule, is that it?" Gai thought the idea over carefully. "Lee," he said slowly, "I once called you a genius of hard work. I see now that I was wrong – you are also a genius of _teamwork_!"

"Thank you, Gai-sensei!" said Lee tearfully. Fabric rustled.

"They're hugging again, aren't they?" Neji asked Tenten.

"You have to ask?"

"This is my cue to leave," said Kakashi quietly. "You did well, Neji. You are progressing more quickly than I expected. I'll be back tomorrow, and I'll try to … read slower." Then he left, and after a few footsteps Neji couldn't hear him anymore, not even by channeling extra chakra to his ears.

Meanwhile it seemed that Gai and Lee had finally separated. "Where did Kakashi go?" asked Gai.

"He went home, I suppose," replied Tenten.

"Such a stealthy departure! Always trying to show me up!" Then something occurred to him. "Lee, remind me again why you're doing Tenten's laps for her? _She's_ not low on chakra!"

Tenten made a small sound of alarm. Neji thought her mistake had been in speaking – if she'd just let Gai and Lee take off, Gai might not have realized that she could be running with them until it was too late.

Lee came to her rescue. "Yes, but sensei, someone must escort Neji-san home!"

Gai sucked in a breath. "_Genius_," he said throatily. Then he cried, "Let's go, Lee!" With thundering footsteps, heralded by the alarmed cries of small animals who had the misfortune to be in their way, the pair took off on their run.

"You missed it," said Tenten after a moment, "but Lee was giving us both a thumbs-up just now."

"Oh," said Neji. "You do realize – you owe him."

"You too! Gai-sensei was just as determined that you should go on that run."

"Yes, but I think in my case Kakashi would have stopped him. For you though, there was no help except for Lee."

She couldn't argue with him – he was right. "Owing Lee," she muttered. "I suppose there are worse things. Like owing Gai."

"Definitely," he agreed. "Do you have all your _kunai_ gathered?" She wouldn't want to leave without them, and he knew without asking that his aim had been quite wild today, especially at the beginning. There might still be weapons scattered in the grass.

"Yes, I counted them. We can leave now, if you're ready." At his answering nod, she took his sleeve and began tugging him gently in the correct direction.

"You really did get better," she said after a few minutes. "At first, you weren't throwing the _kunai_ anywhere near the direction of the bells, but by the end we were having to duck immediately after ringing them."

He acknowledged her praise with a nod. "It was very difficult. I suspect that tomorrow Kakashi will have me try to listen for multiple targets at once, have two or more of you ring the bells simultaneously."

She hesitated. "Do you think it'll work? I mean, do you think that all of this will really allow you to function as a ninja again?"

Neji wanted to be honest with her and with himself; he tried to consider the question dispassionately, separate from his own hopes. "I find it encouraging that Kakashi agreed to become involved. I don't think he would bother if he thought it was useless."

Her hand let go of his sleeve momentarily, and closed around his wrist. "I think it will work," she said quietly. He wondered if she was saying that more to him or to herself.

They had never had any trouble spending time together without speaking, but now a silence stretched between that seemed unusually awkward. To break it, Neji said, "It must be boring for you."

"Boring?"

"To spend time training with me like this. Standing in one place ringing a bell – it can't be very challenging for you."

"Well, it's not forever, and in some ways it's kind of nice."

" 'Nice?'"

"We trained together before, Neji, when you still had … your vision. We did that because we were teammates and that's what teammates do. But you never really _needed_ me and Lee, did you? We always just slowed you down."

Is that what she thought? He couldn't remember ever saying anything of the sort to her. He might have spoken that way to Lee though, at first. "Tenten," he said carefully, "I have never considered you a burden."

"Maybe not. But you never needed me, either. Now you do."

"And you think that's _nice_? I have to have help with everything from dressing myself to eating, and I can tell you that it is not an admirable state." His voice came out chilly and bitter; all the frustration he'd been suppressing surged up and colored his words.

"That's not what I meant!" She was defensive, a little stunned by his sudden anger. "I only meant that it's nice to feel that I can finally do something for you!"

If the previous silence had been awkward, the one that ensued after she said that was nearly unbearable. Neji found himself a little grateful that he couldn't see her, then immediately cursed himself for the cowardly impulse. He should say something, he really should, but he wasn't sure just what.

"We're here," she said tonelessly at last. She still had a hold on his wrist, and she lifted up his arm to lay his hand flat against the door of his home. "Have a good night. Someone will come for you in the morning." She took off down the street without waiting for him to step inside.

He stood for a while, listening to her clanging progress. When he could no longer hear her _kunai_ striking one another, he carefully repeated the process he'd perfected earlier, channeling extra chakra into his ears. This allowed him to pick up Tenten's sound again, and he didn't open the door until it had completely faded into the night.


	4. Hakke Chousen

As Neji predicted, Kakashi's sound training grew more rigorous and complicated over time. Localizing one ringing bell led to localizing two, then three, then many, sending a _shuriken_ at each source of sound in the space of a heartbeat. Then the bells were set in motion, held in the hands of his teammates as they ran and leaped, crisscrossing and drawing farther away, then closer. When all possible permutations of the bell exercise had been exhausted Kakashi took the bells away and turned the training over to Gai, leaving some very specific instructions. Neji was to go through it all again, except that now he would be listening for the little involuntary sounds given off by his comrades, the tiny noises of life.

Weeks passed, and Neji progressed to the point where he was able to hear approaching threats and fend them off with his _kaiten_ before they could touch him. Actual opponents he detected by the beat of their heart and the rasp of their breath, audible to him regardless of any efforts at stealth. Projectiles, _kunai _and _shuriken_ and _senbon_, were harder, but they made a slight whistling as they flew, that he learned to recognize after many painful cuts and slashes. In the best cases he could detect and localize an approaching threat quickly enough to focus a blast from his _hakke kusho_ at it, pushing it away without having to spin at all. Now when Lee or Tenten attacked him, he stood a reasonable chance of neutralizing their assaults.

"That was excellent, Neji-san!" Lee called to him from the ground one afternoon, having just been knocked backward ten meters by the _kaiten_. "I never even got close enough to land a single blow!"

"You're noisier than all the others, Lee. I could hear your approach even without channeling extra chakra to my ears."

"I think it is the result of my youthful enthusiasm," replied Lee seriously. "But still, Neji-san, it would not do to be overconfident, when—"

Whatever else he might have said, Neji didn't catch it. Whistling in from all directions he heard dozens of projectiles of various types, closing fast. There was no time to think; he just automatically began pumping chakra out of various points on his body, then spun in place to create a whirling wall of energy. He kept it up a little longer than usual, since lately Tenten had been throwing her weapons at him in two waves, the second just a beat behind the first, timed to strike in the vulnerable instant just after he came out of the spin.

Metal rang on earth, then stopped. He decided that was all she'd thrown at him, and ceased the flow of chakra out of his body. As he straightened up and tried to listen for her position, something rustled less than a meter away, and then with a guttural yell Tenten punched him hard on the cheek. He staggered backward, jaw throbbing.

"This time, _I'm _the second wave!" she said. She was breathing heavily; she had run in after her weapons, using the confusion of the _kaiten_ and the noise of falling projectiles to disguise the sound of her approach.

Lee protested: "Tenten-san, he was not ready to receive your attack!"

"Do you think enemies will wait until he's _ready_? Others won't hesitate to take advantage of his blindness, even if we do!"

"Yes, but Tenten-san, that was _brutal_!"

Neji spat blood and spoke. "It was brutal, Lee, but also necessary. I will tell you again: I do not want you to spare me." Lee was having some trouble on that front; his natural sense of honor prevented him from going all-out against a blind man. It was galling to receive sympathy from someone you once regularly defeated.

Tenten, though, had no trouble using her full power when they sparred. If anything, she seemed _more_ vicious, _more_ cunning than he'd ever known her to be. Though he couldn't see her face he knew there was an anger driving her, a hard hot rage ignited by their abortive conversation on that first night of training. She'd probably been expecting him to say something, respond in some way to her emotional outburst, and become infuriated by his silence.

It was not that he did not want to speak. He had thought about it, and he knew now what his answer was: It was anathema to him to depend on anybody, but if it had to be someone, he was glad it was her. He knew she would understand the words as they were meant, a declaration a long time coming. But he could not, would not, say such things to her while he was like this, weak and pitiful. He would wait to take the hand she had offered until he was once again proud and strong, _himself_. He had no idea how long that would be.

Meanwhile her anger grew, though he thought with some frustration that she ought to understand him and his desire not to combine one kind of vulnerability with another. She never talked to him outside of the bare necessities, allowing her weapons to speak instead, in their cold steel voices. Not since that first night had she walked him home, choosing instead to yield the responsibility to Gai or Lee. In one extreme case she had even volunteered to do Lee's pushups for him so that she and Neji would not have to be alone.

All in all it was an awkward and fraught situation, in which Neji was blind in more ways than one. Together with his disability it was simply too much to handle at once, so he'd opted for a decidedly Gai-esque solution: training. Training was simple and straightforward, and exhausting enough to leave no energy for anything else. Ultimately it would make him strong enough to resolve these issues.

"Neji!" called Gai before Tenten could come at him again, "how are your chakra reserves?" The problem with Neji's new technique was that it ate up chakra at a moderate but steady rate, which combined with his new dependence on the _kaiten_ to lower his stamina in battle.

He took stock of himself. "Low," he told his teacher. "I've had to hold my spins for longer, and that drains my reserves pretty fast."

Gai's loud laughter echoed off the trees, now bare for the duration of the winter. "Yes, I can see you're being tested by the determination of our lovely Tenten! Impressive! And you, Lee, need to copy your teammate's enthusiasm! In useful training there can be no holding back!"

"Yes sir!" said Lee. Neji heard his hand brush softly against his bangs – he was saluting.

"For now, Neji," continued Gai, "we'll take a break from sparring. I want you to return your hearing to normal to conserve your chakra, and we'll focus on physical conditioning instead."

One way around Neji's decreased stamina was to increase his supply of chakra, which could be done through exertion and hard physical training. Neji supposed he was lucky that that was just the sort of instruction Gai excelled at.

"All right," Neji said, and returned his hearing to normal. It was as jarring as the transition from the Byakugan to ordinary sight, a staggering loss of insight. If Gai followed the same pattern as he had the past week, they would now go on a lengthy run, followed by various calisthenics, culminating in bizarre weight-lifting exercises of Gai's own devising. Neji had point-blank refused to wear weighted clothing.

"Let's go!" cried Gai, and the team set off at a run. Neji was careful to run in Gai's footsteps, so that he would avoid any obstacles. One thing he had not lost with the return to normal hearing was his increased awareness of the direction and nature of sounds, and he could tell with ease that Lee was running behind him, Tenten bringing up the rear.

"Gai-sensei," he began carefully, before he became too winded for speech, "I was wondering if you had given any further thought to my training."

"What do you mean, Neji?" asked his sensei from two meters ahead. "Are you not pleased with your progress?"

"That's not what I mean. I am satisfied that Kakashi's technique will enable me to repel attacks. But I am still unable to navigate. Objects that emit no sound, like rocks and trees, are essentially invisible to me. I am fit to defend only, not to travel or attack." This concern had been growing in Neji's mind for some time, and he felt the time had finally come to voice it.

For a while Gai didn't speak, the only sound from him the rhythmic thudding of his strides. Then he said, "It's a problem Neji, I know. You still have to be led around the village. I don't have a solution yet, but I've spoken to Kakashi and Lady Tsunade, and in time I'm sure we'll hit on something. The important thing is that we still haven't given up."

Neji greeted that with silence. No matter how keen his hearing was or how fast he could spin out a _kaiten_, in the end he was useless so long as he could not find his own way. No shinobi could function while having to be led by the hand. As to how he could fix that, how he could transform himself again into an offensive weapon, he was like his teacher – at a loss.

***

Neji's defense against incoming attacks was complete, as effective as it was going to get. It was not quite at the same level as before he'd lost his sight, but his quick reflexes and sharp hearing brought it close. Now, at Gai's behest, Neji was allowing Lee to approach him at close quarters and engage him in hand-to-hand combat. Gai was determined that Neji should recover his ability to use _taijutsu_.

_Taijutsu_ had always been Neji's greatest strength, his first and last resort, his surekill. His _juuken_ was the best in the village, and since his rise to _chuunin_ it had never been beaten. Now everything was different, for the _juuken_ was useless without the Byakugan to guide it. He was reduced to ordinary _taijutsu_, punching and kicking, hoping to inflict damage through the application of force. In this arena the resident expert was Lee, a fact which Neji found himself reminded of again and again, painfully.

Lee ran toward him from across the training ground, and Neji waited until his teammate had closed to a meter. Then he struck, aiming a punch for Lee's core, where his heart could be heard beating rhythmically. But Lee was just too fast; he dodged Neji's blow without difficulty and returned one of his own.

By listening, Neji ascertained that Lee had dodged off to the right, and, predicting that a counterattack would soon follow from that area, he stepped left and ducked. This helped a little, so that when Lee's fist made contact it was with Neji's shoulder instead of the intended target, his gut. It was a hard hit; had it landed correctly it would have left him doubled over on the ground.

Lee's other fist came whistling in to finish the job, and Neji heard it in time to dodge. But he opted to take the hit instead, guessing that, in his eagerness to attack, Lee would have left himself open for an instant. At the same moment as the second blow landed Neji lunged forward and struck, and though pain blossomed in his cheek he felt the satisfying sensation of his fists making contact with Lee's body.

"That's right, Neji, use your guts sensor!" Gai called, as Lee stumbled backward and grunted with pain. By this he meant instinct, of course, and he had spent nearly half an hour trying to convince his students that it was more accurate than sight. To Neji it all seemed like a lot of guesswork, and he would gladly have traded his 'guts sensor' for even one normal eye.

He was wondering whether he ought to charge again or wait for the attack to come to him, when Lee gasped in surprise. Tenten had been sharpening her weapons under a nearby tree, and now the scrape of metal against metal ceased and he heard her clatter to her feet.

Straightening, Neji finally noticed what had spooked his team – there was someone coming. He had failed to notice the footsteps because he'd been focused on the battle. The tread was heavy, confident; he did not recognize it.

"Who is it?" he asked Lee in a low voice.

"It is Lord Hyuuga," his teammate answered in awe.

Lord Hiashi Hyuuga — Neji hadn't seen him since before the accident, and had not intended to make contact until after his retraining was complete. It shamed him to be seen by his uncle while still in this state. He wondered how long Hiashi had been watching, how much of this messy excuse for _taijutsu_ he'd seen.

Tenten had come to stand near him, her movement accented as usual by clanging. "He just turned up," she said. "And he doesn't have his Byakugan engaged – I don't think he was watching you."

Neji nodded his thanks. She was still angry with him, but had evidently decided to put it aside for the moment. She had chosen to stand beside him to face Lord Hyuuga. It was a comfort.

Lord Hyuuga stepped briskly over the frozen ground and came to a halt before Gai. "I was wondering," he said in his deep authoritative voice, "whether I might borrow Neji for a while."

"He could at least say hello to you first," Tenten murmured disapprovingly. "He _is_ your uncle."

Neji shook his head slightly. "No, this is Gai's training session, so he will speak to Gai first. The proprieties must be observed."

She huffed in unmistakable derision.

"Er, sure, Lord Hyuuga," replied Gai, obviously ill at ease. "Take as long as you like."

"Yes, thank you. I'm sure you could use the time to train your other students – this kind of rehabilitation is no doubt dull for them."

Tenten sucked in a breath. "Why, that—"

"Let it go," advised Neji. "It was not an insult."

"Then what would you call it?"

"The truth." Lord Hyuuga came within earshot, and they fell silent.

Hiashi stopped a few paces away. "Neji," he said without preamble, "I want you to come with me now."

"Yes." No other response was possible. Hiashi did not acknowledge Lee or Tenten, just spun in place and started back toward the village.

"Neji-san—" Lee began.

Neji held up a hand to quiet him. "We'll resume our match later," he said shortly, and followed his uncle.

Hiashi set a quick pace, and Neji hurried after him, needing to stay in his wake to avoid obstacles. He was _not_ going to trip over something and fall in front of this man.

"Neji," said Lord Hyuuga, "we are approaching the village now. I am aware that you still have difficulty navigating – do you need me to lead you?"

Neji was reminded uncomfortably of Hiashi's influence, that would let him keep track of his nephew's progress from afar. And though the offer was unexpectedly thoughtful, the idea of letting his uncle take him by the hand and walk him through the village was horrifying.

"If I walk behind you, Lord Hyuuga, I can follow the sound of your footsteps, so long as we proceed slowly."

"I see. I had heard that your perception of sound has improved, and now I see it's true. Impressive."

Was Lord Hyuuga patronizing him? Unthinkable, but there was no way he was actually impressed by something like that, when his perceptions extended to a depth most people only dreamed of.

Neji didn't know where they were going but opted not to ask, choosing instead to concentrate on the sound of Hiashi's footfalls, on not running into anything. The noises of the town, the babble of the crowd and the clink of money and the creaking of cart wheels, grew louder; they must be in the heart of Konoha by now. Amid the hum of voices Neji occasionally caught his own name, though he chose not to listen further. It seemed his plight was well known, his current appearance shocking.

Of course Neji couldn't see his own reflection in a mirror, but he had a fairly good idea of how he must look. His skin was all but healed, though a few shallow scars remained around his eyebrows and the bridge of his nose. The day he had gotten out of the hospital Tenten had assured him they weren't so bad, though he wasn't really sure he could trust her objectivity. His eyes, though, were still ghastly, empty gaping pits that caused even the stalwart Lee to gag when they were revealed. He had taken to wearing bandages over them, not because he was vain but because it was tiresome to hear people react in horror at the sight of your face.

He thought he knew where they must be headed, and when Hiashi came to a stop and said, "Here we are, Neji – the Hyuuga Main House," his suspicions were confirmed. He'd been here before, to train, and could see it clearly in his mind's eye: a square wooden building in the old style, a place of paper screens and hardwood floors, built around a central courtyard open to the sky. It was huge and traditional, much like the Hyuuga clan itself.

The interior was barely warmer than the winter air outside; Hiashi would not have wasted time or resources on making his family more comfortable. They were meant to be stoic and uncomplaining in all things. Neji followed his uncle straight through, over the slick polished floors, on a route he knew well. They were going to the courtyard.

A wooden walkway circled the courtyard, perhaps half a meter above the ground. Neji heard Hiashi come to the edge and stop, then step down and turn.

"Neji," he said, an unaccustomed note of uncertainty creeping into his voice, "perhaps I should—"

"That is not necessary, Lord Hyuuga." Neji advanced carefully to the spot where he'd heard his uncle step down and felt for the ledge with his foot. He found it, then waved his hand through the space to his right, knowing there ought to be a support beam in the vicinity -- _t__here_ it was. Using it as a guide, he successfully lowered himself down from the walkway.

It had taken a little while, and Hiashi had watched in silence. "You are resourceful," he said when Neji stood at last on the dirt. "But this is unacceptable, for me as well as you."

What was he supposed to say to that? If his uncle was embarrassed by him, there was nothing he could do about it that he had not already done.

"I have followed reports of your sound training closely," Hiashi continued, "and though I can appreciate the utility of such a thing, I saw immediately that it would not solve your entire problem. You are still incapable of navigation or true independence. And I am only guessing at this, but I would suspect that in close combat you are at a decisive disadvantage."

"That is true," said Neji. There was no use denying it. "At close quarters, sound location is too slow and unfocused to let me counter an enemy's attacks. I have great difficulty telling where an opponent's blows are coming from, so Gai-sensei has been trying to … hone my instincts." He was absolutely not going to say the words "guts sensor" to Lord Hyuuga.

"Hn," said Hiashi, a certain judgment of Gai's method implicit in that single syllable. "I have been consulting a number of people about this issue, including Lady Tsunade. The Hokage was in favor of adapting some of the techniques used by Otogakure. When it comes to sound-based jutsu, the Sound-nin are by far the most advanced." Neji remembered the various machines and techniques used by Orochimaru's subordinates during the _chuunin_ exams years ago; all of them had relied on the manipulation of sound waves. It was an ingenious notion, but somehow … distasteful. "But I rejected that option," said his uncle, "because the situation in the Sound village has become opaque since Orochimaru's death, and they were never allies of the Leaf to begin with. We have no way of knowing whether they have anything that might help us, and even if they did, they probably wouldn't share it."

"Our next thought was to look closer to home, at the Aburame and Inuzuka clans specifically. I spoke with each clan head, and received the same answer from both: the close relationship their ninja have with animal familiars is genetic and cannot be acquired through training alone. It would be possible to equip you with a dog trained as a guide, but that would only suffice for everyday civilian activity – it would not fit you for battle."

Neji was actually relieved to hear that. Dogs were a hassle, and he had no desire to become like Kiba, as much canine as human. As for bugs, the mere thought of letting tiny chakra-sucking beetles take up residence in his body made his skin crawl. With his enhanced hearing he would be able to hear them creeping, crawling, _feeding_. He suppressed a sudden urge to scratch.

"No," Hiashi concluded, "the solution to your problem is not in another village or even another clan. It is right here, with the Hyuuga."

Neji tried to process that. "Lord Hyuuga, all of the clan techniques I know require the Byakugan for execution, with the exception of the _kaiten_ and the _hakke kusho_." He did not say the rest of what he was thinking, that there might have been other techniques that did not require the Byakugan, hidden from his family by the Main House.

"That is true of all the techniques I know as well," replied Hiashi, answering Neji's tacit question. "But ours is a unique and flexible jutsu. That is what makes this clan so powerful. If the required technique does not yet exist, we will simply have to create it."

"Create a jutsu?" Only masters were capable of that, after years of study and practice.

"Yes. Actually, it's already created. I have spent the last several weeks perfecting it."

_Several weeks?_ Hiashi was a _jounin_ and the head of Konoha's most important clan; surely he did not have so much time to waste on helping a disabled member of the Branch House? "Consultations and development of a new jutsu –it sounds as if you have gone to a lot of trouble for my sake, Lord Hyuuga."

"You're right," said his uncle, "I have. But you are a member of my clan, and I consider your training a part of my duty. You are also my brother's son. You should have known I would not simply discard you because of an accident."

Neji could hardly believe this was coming from the same man who had disinherited his eldest daughter because she did not live up to his expectations. It seemed Hiashi had changed since that time, and he would have bet that Hinata was the cause. In seeking to change herself she had affected many others, including Neji and her own father.

He didn't say any of that to Hiashi, of course. Such a personal discussion would have been unseemly and embarrassing to both of them. All he said was, "What sort of a jutsu is it?"

"Ah," said Hiashi, relieved that the talk of his motives was over, "it was actually Hinata's idea. I call it the _hakke chousen_."

_Hakke_ was the standard prefix for all of the Hyuuga clan's jutsu – it referred to the pattern of their _juuken_ strikes. It was the second part of the name that was unique, and _chousen_ meant "long line."

"_Hakke chousen_," Neji repeated. "How does it work?"

Hiashi cleared his throat. "It's an adaptation of Hinata's jutsu, and she was supposed to be here now to discuss the theory with you. But as she's still not here, I'll do it. Are you familiar with Hinata's _shugohakke_ technique?"

"Yes." She'd used it against him when they sparred a few times. It allowed her to emit short blades of chakra from her palms, with which she could stab an opponent. Coupled with the Byakugan it was an accurate and deadly form of both defense and attack. But he didn't see how it was relevant – without his sight, it was no more useful to him than his usual attacks.

"Good. Hinata can increase the length of her blades, but only up to a point. She is also limited by the fact that she can only accurately control chakra emitted from her palms, and not from her whole body. But your mastery of the _juuken_ is more advanced than hers. You could emit chakra from multiple locations simultaneously and form it into blades long enough to sweep out an area of tens of meters."

"But to do any damage, I would still need to know the exact location of my opponent. Forgive me Lord Hyuuga, but I do not see how Hinata's technique will solve my problem."

"You wouldn't be using it to attack, Neji, but to _see_. Until now your perception has been like a bird's, based on sight. With Kakashi's help you have adopted something of the bat, learning to understand by sound. The _hakke_ _chousen_ is a different model again – the cat. The chakra beams you emit will be like whiskers. Where they are interrupted, where they are disturbed, you will know that there is an obstruction. At long distances they will permit you to navigate, and at short distances they will give you a finer picture of an enemy's movements than is possible through sound."

It almost sounded plausible. Neji felt a small flowering of hope, and quickly stamped it down. "Is something like that even possible?"

"I would not have brought you here if it was not. But it is by no means easy – it requires fine control, a large supply of chakra, and specialized reflexes. You will be essentially navigating by touch, which takes time to adapt to. Though the idea was Hinata's, she lacks the control to properly execute it. I have learned the _hakke chousen_, but my mastery is still incomplete and my range is short. These are flaws that only time and training can overcome."

Neji breathed deeply, and there was no suppressing hope this time. "Time is something I have in abundance, Lord Hyuuga, and I am more than willing to train."

"I thought you would say that, Neji. Let us begin."

Just then the front door slid open and slammed closed, and hurried footsteps pounded through the house. "Forgive me, father!" said a breathless Hinata as she burst out onto the walkway. "The report to the Hokage took longer than expected. I ran all the way here!"

Hiashi did not acknowledge his daughter's apology at all. "I have already explained the concept of the _hakke chousen_ to your cousin," he said, "and we were about to attempt it."

"Oh! Neji-nii san! How are you?"

He did not really feel like exchanging pleasantries, he wanted to start. But Hiashi had said this was all her idea, and he owed her some acknowledgment. "I am fine, Hinata-sama. Lord Hyuuga has said you invented this technique?"

"I w-wouldn't say I invented it, nii-san. It was just a vague idea I had. Father was the one who put it into practice."

Hinata's way was timid and retiring, a sharp contrast to her confident and domineering father. "Hinata, false modesty has no place among shinobi," Hiashi told her sharply. "You are a Hyuuga, and you have done something important. Don't forget that."

"Y-yes. Then … I did invent it, nii-san, but I cannot carry it out myself. Still, I wanted to be present for your training, to, um, help however I can."

Neji bowed slightly in her direction. "Thank you," he said gravely. He could hear her heart pounding, either from the run or from embarrassment. Probably the latter –attention made her uncomfortable.

"Right then," said Hiashi. "To begin with, Neji, emit a steady stream of chakra from your right palm, and try to shape it as long and thin as possible. I will activate my Byakugan to observe, and Hinata will do the same."

Flesh slapped softly on flesh as Lord Hyuuga and his daughter simultaneously clasped their hands together and began to form hand signs. At the same instant they said, "Byakugan!" Neji felt something then, a quick thrust of an ugly emotion – jealousy.

Putting aside that disturbing development for the moment, he concentrated on following his uncle's directions. Emitting chakra from his palm was no problem; it was the first step in the _juuken_, one he'd mastered as a small child. Shaping it, though, was harder. His jaw tightened as he focused, pouring all of his will into that tendril of chakra, stretching it out farther, and farther still. Suddenly he felt an odd resistance, and he pushed through it by doubling his chakra output.

"Um, nii-san, I th-think that is too much. You have … put a hole in the tree."

An old cherry tree, planted right after the house's construction, stood in the courtyard; it was often referred to as the symbol of the main branch. Evidently the resistance he'd felt had been his line of chakra striking it.

He ceased emitting chakra at once. "Have I killed it?" he asked.

"No," replied Hiashi, not at all angry. If anything, he sounded impressed. "It's a very small hole, Neji. A centimeter across, and the tree is at least seven meters away from you. That kind of focus and range on your first try is encouraging. I think this technique will work."

"Try it again, nii-san," Hinata urged, "only use less chakra this time."

He tried again, and this time when the chakra ray hit the tree he maintained the same mild output and moved his hand slightly, causing the ray to play up and down the trunk. The push and pull of chakra on his palm fluctuated slightly with irregularities in the bark, giving him information about the topography of its surface. In a certain position he froze, lowered his hand slowly, then raised it again.

"A knot," he said. "There is a knot in the bark _here_, about a meter and a half from the ground."

"That's right nii-san! You are exactly right!" Hinata sounded delighted; she even forgot to stutter.

"Yes, good," said Hiashi. "Though of course maintaining the output and interpreting the information increases in difficulty with the number of lines. Try a second one now, from the left and right hands simultaneously."

He obeyed, and soon he was able to 'see' both Hinata and Hiashi, by holding a palm out toward each of them. They raised their arms, and he could feel it; they turned in place, and he could tell them what direction they were facing. Though, he felt a little uncomfortable, as though he was groping them, and deliberately used the smallest amount of chakra possible so that they wouldn't feel anything. He told himself it was no more invasive than the Byakugan itself, which Master Jiraiya had once referred to enviously as "the ultimate peeping jutsu."

Before he left that day, Hiashi told Hinata to attack him, to give him a taste of what the _chousen_ could do at close range. Someone who didn't know her well might have expected her to have the same problem as Lee, a reluctance to come at Neji with full force, but this was meant to help someone else and was in front of her father. She did not hold back.

As this was _taijutsu_ and less range but more precision was required, Neji tried something different: ten short rays instead of two long ones. He felt Hinata extend one hand in front of her and pull the other back, taking the Hyuuga stance. Then she rushed at him and he stepped sideways, turning to keep his rays focused on her. Her right arm broke one ray and then another; she was bringing it up in an arc toward his shoulder. He suddenly knew where it would be, and reached out swiftly to intercept it. His hand met something, closed around it – her wrist. He had _caught_ her.

"That's enough!" called Hiashi. "As you can see Neji, the _chousen_ allowed you to read her movements. In time it will enable you to do so with enough precision to fight on equal terms with sighted ninja. Of course attacks against the chakra network are lost to you now, but with this you should be able to replace them with _gouken_ techniques." _Gouken_ was the strong fist style employed by Gai and Lee, that focused on defeating the enemy by inflicting external damage.

Neji released Hinata, a little stunned by what he'd just accomplished. To make such a leap in a single day …

"Good job, nii-san," she said to him softly. "I knew you would be able to master it."

"Mastery is a way off," he replied.

"It is," Hiashi agreed. "That is why I will speak to Might Gai and persuade him to send you here for an hour or two each day. You will train with me, or perhaps with Hinata. To improve this technique you will need the assistance of someone who can see chakra."

"That is very generous, Lord Hyuuga."

"I have already said that it is unacceptable to me to see you helpless. And it may not be as big a time commitment as I thought, given what I've seen today."

"Um, the sun has begun to set," said Hinata. "If you return to the training grounds now, your team will probably still be there. Would … you like me to lead you there?"

Neji was tempted to refuse and attempt the journey alone. But that would have been rash; the _chousen_ wasn't refined to that level yet. So he let his cousin guide him, and she was happy to comply when he asked her to walk a little further ahead so that he might practice directing himself. The sound of her footsteps was clear and easy to follow, and his chakra rays let him measure the width of the street, trace the outlines of the buildings on either side. When a small child dodged between them he felt it and was able to come to a stop in time. It was a small thing, unimportant by most objective standards, yet to him it felt disproportionately large.

This _hakke chousen_, in conjunction with his sound techniques, was the answer he'd been searching for. With this, he could regain his independence and ability to fight. With this, he could become the kind of person who could give Tenten her answer, a proud Leaf-nin once more.


	5. A Wager Made

It was the end of winter and spring was encroaching on the land. Birds sang from the forest in ever-increasing numbers, and a few hardy trees had even put out their first tentative buds. Neji found that if he laid his head against a tree trunk and used his enhanced hearing, he could detect the sluggish movement of sap as a faint but loudening whisper.

It was natural to make comparisons between the imminent flowering of life and his own new skill. All winter long he had trained with his team and with Lord Hyuuga to enhance his sound location and _hakke chousen_ separately and then combine them into a seamless whole. Hearing and touch could now completely compensate for his lost sight, so that at middle and short distances his senses were at least as acute as his teammates', and sometimes even sharper.

He found that footsteps could be as telling as faces, and by listening to a person's tread he could discern their sex, height, weight, physical condition and personality type. Shy people, like Hinata, tended to shuffle, while those who, like Gai and Lee, possessed confidence but no subtlety moved with a firm distinctive stamp. Tenten was of another type again, light quick footsteps reflecting physical and mental agility. Then too a person's heart rate and breathing were telling signs indeed, and by listening to another's pulse and breath Neji was often able to know when he was being lied to, or when the other was nervous, or when they were scared. The fact that he chose to hide his own emotions did not prevent him from seeing the value in reading others'.

Anyone who tried to take advantage of Neji's blindness from a distance by using projectiles was in for a rude shock. He could hear incoming weapons, even slim _senbon_, at twenty meters and instantly ascertain their numbers, speed, trajectories; his sound-location had become so precise in combination with the _chousen_ that he often chose to catch _kunai _and _shuriken_ rather than dodge them. He had practiced using edged weapons offensively as well, and while he didn't have Tenten's accuracy he stood a fair chance of hitting an opponent's body when he threw. Hyuuga traditionally eschewed any weapons save their own hands, but Neji now carried a wide variety of _kunai_ and _shuriken_ among his standard gear.

Then there was the _hakke chousen_, Neji's trump card. Hinata had conceived the jutsu to permit him to navigate and refine his perception, but it proved capable of far more. From that first tentative ray he had progressed to the point where he could emit more than a hundred from points all over his body, of such slenderness that they collectively required no more chakra than the Byakugan. During travel he varied their lengths from one meter to thirty, giving him a detailed picture of his surroundings. When more resolution was required, for close combat or the examination of a single object, he simply changed the rays' focus or narrowed the area from which he emitted them, enabling him to detect fine differences in position and texture. The rays were, as Hiashi had said, akin to whiskers, but these were whiskers over whose length, position, and direction he had total control.

The fine chakra control required for the _chousen_ was something only Neji was capable of. Before the accident, his single mid-range jutsu had been the _hakke kusho_, a powerful blast of chakra from the palm. It was effective but blunt, the hammer of the _juuken_ arsenal, and he'd used it mainly to stun opponents before rushing in for the kill. But Neji could now focus that same amount of power into just one of his _chousen_ rays, forming an impossibly long chakra blade to pierce an enemy at long range. He could move the ray to slice, and he could modulate its strength to stab to the depth of his choosing. Even Hiashi could not perform this feat; if he could, it would have meant a radical change in the ancient Hyuuga _juuken_, the extension of their deadliest jutsu to mid- or long range. The first time Neji demonstrated his new technique Hiashi was awestruck, saying that even without his Byakugan Neji was still the greatest genius of the clan.

Neji's confidence had returned with his talent, and he was tired of training. His chakra reserves were high and his skills were honed, and he was ready to prove himself. When his team received a summons from the Hokage he knew he would finally get the chance.

For some reason the street outside Tsunade's office was crowded. Neji walked alongside his teammates, using his rays and ears to find openings and weave his way through. He had come to recognize the village's landmarks by their dimensions and texture, and was not at all lost. He felt people turn to stare at him as he passed by, and heard his name hissed in what the speakers no doubt thought were inaudible whispers. All winter long it had been like this, and it had ceased to bother him. His teammates, though, were another matter.

"I wish they'd stop that," said Tenten in outrage. "Haven't they got any manners?" Neji felt her turn her head in the direction of one of the gossipers, likely to stare him down.

"Yes," Lee agreed, "it is very rude."

"Don't let it bother you," said Gai blithely. "My youthfulness and manly good looks have always drawn stares. I take it as a compliment."

Tenten's breathing got faster and shallower – she was struggling not to laugh.

Neji still hadn't spoken to her about her confession to him. He was waiting until after his status as a ninja was assured, which seemed to him the proper order of things. Her anger had cooled over time, and though the awkwardness between them remained, when all of them were together it was much the same dynamic as always – Gai and Lee engaging in youthful insanity, Tenten and Neji trying to avoid the worst of it.

"_Hello_ there, lovely!" exclaimed Gai suddenly. "I've noticed you can't keep your eyes off me, the beautiful Green Beast of Konoha!" His words were directed at a young woman who had been watching them unabashedly, even walking alongside them a few paces to continue gawking.

The girl protested. "No, I wasn't – _ahhhhh_!" Gai had just gone into one of his trademark poses – hip thrown out, one hand raised in the air, the other pressed to his face – and, if he stayed true to form, had probably also winked. In all likelihood it was this last bit that provoked the scream. In the next moment the girl spun around and pelted up the street at a dead run, crashing into several other passers-by as she went.

"Was it something I said?" asked Gai in genuine puzzlement, and then Tenten couldn't stifle her laughter anymore.

The disturbance had the effect of drawing stares away from Team Gai and toward the fleeing woman, and not for the first time Neji was left to wonder whether Gai's insanity masked a hidden deviousness. He was still pondering that, and Tenten was still laughing, when they reached Lady Tsunade's office.

"Gai," said Tsunade warmly after they knocked and were admitted, "Tenten, Lee. And Neji. It's been a while."

Indeed it had. Neji, of course, had not been assigned to any missions during his retraining, and Tsunade had also taken his teammates off active duty so they could help him. Neither of them had ever complained, though in their place Neji would have felt frustrated, wasted. Of course the fact that he not spoken directly to Tsunade since his demotion didn't mean she'd been ignorant of his activities – Neji was aware she'd received regular reports from both Gai and Hiashi.

Neji's _chousen_ revealed to him the shape of Tsunade's large desk, as well as the fact that she was seated behind it with her hands folded together in front of her. In the expected place at her left shoulder stood someone else, who to his surprise was neither Sakura nor Shizune. This person's outlines were oddly bulky, as though they were wearing a large jacket, and there was a sound emanating from them that was nearly too low for Neji to pick up.

Neji felt Tsunade's regard, the way her face turned toward him and stayed there. Suddenly her right hand moved, pulling up and back in the space of a heartbeat, then arced forward and released something to fly at him through the air. He didn't have to think about it; as the object whistled toward him and broke ray after ray, he automatically reached out and plucked it from the space right in front of his head. His hand closed around the object, feeling it; it was a scroll.

"Impressive," said Tsunade, "considering that the last time I saw you, you couldn't even open a door on your own."

"What if he'd missed?" asked Tenten indignantly. She must have been either very irate or very startled to question the Hokage, her personal idol.

"I knew he wouldn't," replied Tsunade casually. "I've been following his training. Of course you can't read the scroll, Neji, so please pass it to Gai."

Neji obeyed, handing the scroll off to his teacher, who then unrolled it and read silently for a moment. "A mission," said Gai when he was finished. "To the Land of Rivers, to capture or kill some missing-nin. They are … associates of Ryu Takada. Is this for us, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade inclined her head. "It is," she replied. "For Lee and Tenten, at any rate. They have not completed a mission in some time, and frankly Konoha has felt the loss. It's time to make them active again, and I thought this mission was a perfect choice. It's like the last one they went on, except, of course, that killing is permitted this time."

"Does it include Neji?" Gai demanded.

Tsunade spread her hands in an equivocal gesture. "That depends on him, on whether he's ready or not."

"I am," said Neji immediately. The chance to get some kind of vengeance on the man who'd injured him was too good to pass up.

"Of course you'd say that. But in the end, it's up to me to decide."

Neji's breath caught. "And … what have you decided, Hokage-sama?"

"I haven't, yet. The reports have all been good, but I feel I should assess your capabilities myself. So I'm giving you a test, a chance to prove yourself. Succeed, and you accompany your team on their mission. Fail, and you remain behind so we can discuss your future as a shinobi. Understand?"

Beside him, his teammates went rigid. "What sort of a test is it?" Neji asked.

"Nothing complicated," said Tsunade. "You will fight against an opponent of my choosing. I will watch and evaluate your performance, and decide based on that whether you're fit for the mission or not."

"Who is this opponent?" It had to be the second figure behind the desk, who had not moved since they entered. But Neji couldn't come up with a name, nor an explanation for the low continuous sound.

"I will be your opponent, Neji-san," said the figure in a soft masculine voice. "And I will not hold back."

And then Neji understood the bulky shape, the impassivity, the barely-audible noise, because the opponent Tsunade had selected was Shino Aburame.

***

Their match took place on the training grounds, terrain whose layout Neji knew better than his own room. It was an advantage, the only one he had. Tsunade could not have chosen a more difficult opponent for him. Shino would not come close, where he would be vulnerable to _taijutsu_, but would instead hang back out of range and let his insects fight for him. And while Shino himself could be easily tracked via sound and touch, the same could not be said of his bugs. They could detect chakra and were small enough to slip between the rays of the _chousen_, leaving sound as Neji's only means of locating them. And the noise they made was very quiet indeed, requiring more than the usual amount of chakra to pick it up. The sound that accompanied Shino came from the totality of all his insects, and even that was practically inaudible. Unlike fists or _shuriken_, the bug tamer's living weapons would be nearly invisible to Neji.

And if those bugs closed on him, if they began to feed on him unaware, it was all over, for without his chakra reserves Neji's sensory techniques would be useless, leaving him blind, deaf, and numb.

But Shino didn't know the full extent of Neji's offensive capabilities. He also didn't have anything like Neji's motivation, for while Shino fought to carry out an order, Neji fought for his pride, his future, and Tenten.

She walked beside him on the way to the training grounds, her heart pounding and her hands fiddling with a _kunai_. Her nervousness on his behalf, her desire that he succeed -- Neji took them as encouraging signs.

They reached the appointed place and Shino walked without ceremony to the opposite side, facing Neji across a distance of some fifteen meters with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. "I'm ready whenever you are," he said blandly.

Gai, Lee, and Tenten took up places beside Tsunade on the sidelines, just inside the shelter of the forest.

Lee gave him a thumbs-up. "Neji-kun, do your best! I know that you will win!"

A second "good-guy" pose came from Gai. "Defeat him with the power of your youth, Neji!" Neji thought dryly of pointing out that he was technically older than Shino, than decided against it. Tsunade would become impatient if she had to sit through one of Gai's lectures.

Neji stepped past Gai and Lee in the direction of the training ground, coming to a halt near Tenten. "Tenten," he said in a low voice only she could hear, "I intend to win. Wait." He was facing away from her, toward Shino.

She breathed in sharply and tightened her grip on the _kunai_. "I have been," she said quietly. Neji nodded once, then stepped out onto the battlefield.

He put it all out of his mind, all of the things he wanted out of this battle, the knowledge of what a ruin his life would be if he failed. It had no place here, where all that mattered was speed, strength, and skill. He called to Shino, "I'm ready now!" and felt Shino incline his head in return.

Immediately Neji increased the supply of chakra to his ears, to a level much greater than the usual amplification. It was dangerous and left him vulnerable to loud noises, but there was no choice if he wanted to detect approaching insects. At this level, the sound issuing from Shino could be clearly heard for what it was, the chewing and creeping of thousands of bugs inside his clothing and body. So long as they remained there they were no threat, and Neji listened hard for any sign they might be leaving.

In the past his impulse would have been to hang back and yield the first move to Shino. The Byakugan was fit for perception and analysis, and was most effective when used to examine attacks for weaknesses. But the more time he gave Shino, the greater his chances of being drained of chakra by legions of hungry beetles. The best approach was to finish this quickly, before the bugs had time to get to him. And at this range the _chousen _was his only weapon.

Already there was a line of chakra extending from Neji all the way to Shino, through which Neji could feel his opponent standing impassively, waiting. Neji focused hard on that single ray, concentrating a potent blast of energy down into a line no wider than the tip of a _senbon_. Any moment now, the technique should pierce a hole in the bug tamer's chest.

Something happened – the _chousen_ met brief resistance and broke through. On the other side was nothing, no resistance at all.

_But that's not how it should be_, Neji thought. _It should take longer than that to drill through his body._

And then the space where Shino had stood dissolved into an angry buzzing, and Neji understood – Shino had moved, leaving a bug clone in his place. He must have done it in the brief instant when Neji had been focusing on his attack, when he was using only the single ray and relying on hearing alone to track his opponent. He had moved, and Neji hadn't noticed.

Sending out another multitude of rays and returning his attention to the ambient sound, Neji located Shino again, just a pace to the right of his previous position. His hands were still in his pockets.

"You were distracted for an instant," said the bug tamer calmly. "That was fortunate for me. My bugs noticed when the intensity of your ray increased, giving me time to step aside. Still, it's an impressive jutsu."

If he had just swept the ray sideways, he could have slashed Shino. It still might not be too late, if the bugs were only monitoring the rays connected to their master's body. But something was wrong; Shino didn't sound right. The insect hum was the same, but the heartbeat that should have been beneath it was bizarrely arrhythmic.

"Another insect clone," Neji murmured to himself. And this one had spoken, or seemed to, which could have been accomplished if Shino knew how to throw his voice or use simple _genjutsu_. He was, after all, a student of Kurenai. But then where was the real Shino?

His rays were undisturbed and he heard nothing apart from the clone. No matter how quiet he was, Shino could not have moved without detection by the _chousen_, which meant he had not moved to any place its rays reached. In that case …

Neji focused his hearing downward, toward his feet and the earth below. _There _it was, a faint whining like a drill, and a sort of scratching. The noise of digging.

Neji leaped to the side just in time to avoid the assault, as Shino erupted from the earth in a roiling cloud of bugs. The bug tamer's progress underneath the training ground had been swift and quiet, enabled by the insects' tunneling abilities. And now the bugs that had comprised the clone fifteen meters away were closing in from one side while those accompanying Shino came from the other. Neji was trapped between them.

He could try to run but the bugs flew faster, and if he blew back one group with the _hakke kusho_ the second would have enough time to get him. On the sidelines, in the shelter of the trees, Neji heard Lee gasp and Tenten call out his name. _Tenten_ …

There was only one solution, the same one he used when Tenten's weapons were closing in on all sides. Ceasing the _chousen _he began emitting chakra more intensely, and then he spun into the _kaiten_. His absolute defense worked on the bugs as it worked on _kunai_, knocking them off course. On all sides, the volume of their buzzing increased and they died in droves.

But Shino had been prepared for this, and had given his bugs an order, a kind of kamikaze directive. As each one contacted the _kaiten_ it began to feed, drinking in chakra at a furious rate before it died. Consequently Neji felt his defense begin to weaken and was forced to pump out more chakra to compensate. It seemed the bugs didn't have to touch him to drain his reserves – they were doing it quite effectively from a distance. At this rate he would be wrung dry very soon.

Still spinning, Neji thought furiously. Shino was just a few meters away, tantalizingly close, and he was sure this time that it was the real one. If Neji's chakra was being depleted, Shino's insects must also be decreasing in numbers. It wasn't as if the bug tamer had an infinite supply of them. Already thousands of them had died – was that enough to leave their master vulnerable?

Whether it was or not Neji had no choice, he could not maintain this _kaiten_ any longer. In a heartbeat he made his decision, simultaneously ceasing the emission of chakra from his body and launching himself at Shino. Those bugs that had not yet died closed in quickly and settled on him, and Neji both heard and felt them begin to feed. He reengaged the _chousen _and focused it at Shino, fully aware that his level of perception would fall as the bugs' effect took its toll. It was a contest of stamina now, of how long Neji could hold out against the insects versus how long Shino could hold out against Neji.

Shino had only enough time to throw his arms up in a defensive posture. He clearly hadn't been expecting his opponent to simply cease resisting the insects in favor of launching an attack. He was no good at close quarters, and the best he could do was send his few dozen remaining insect to fly out of his parka to assist in draining Neji. They settled especially on Neji's hands, drinking chakra from the openings there to prevent the use of the _juuken_. It was a tactic Shino had perfected against Hinata.

Neji felt the insects swarming over his palms and clenched his jaw in frustration, all the while sending a flurry of blows at his opponent. He was still fighting in the _juuken_ style, hands flat and vertical, for though an attack on an enemy's chakra points was out of the question for him a crippling blow to the heart was not. But now that too had become impossible, because he couldn't emit chakra from his hands. Worse still he could feel the insects instinctively migrating to his other chakra openings, where their insatiable feeding commenced to cut off his _chousen _rays one by one. There wasn't much time left, and he lacked sufficient chakra for another _kaiten_ or _hakke kusho_. The only option now left him was to revert to the strong fist style. He curled both hands into fists, crushing a number of insects in the process, and tried to channel Lee.

Neji's blows changed, gained force; he would only have to connect once or perhaps twice. Shino could clearly perceive the danger but was powerless to prevent it, being himself low on energy. Even in the best of circumstances he was below average at _taijutsu_, and this was not the best of circumstances. Neji's fist got past his guard and struck his cheek, loosening teeth, and then the other fist followed in an uppercut that caught him under the chin. Shino flew back and landed on the ground, dazed.

"That's it!" called Tsunade from the trees. "That's enough!"

"Good," said Neji weakly, and dropped to his knees. The _chousen_ was finished, for he had no more chakra to pour into it, and with regret he also stopped channeling extra chakra to his ears – it was either that or lose consciousness. As he'd feared, the bugs had succeeded in robbing him of his enhanced senses.

His team ran toward him across the battlefield, each with their distinctive tread. As they neared Neji's position the sound of their footfalls altered slightly, on terrain now covered with insect carcasses. "Yay Neji-kun! You won!" yelled Lee. A couple of stomach-churning crunches followed as he jumped in place, crushing bugs with each landing. "I never doubted that you would!"

"Yes, it was an impressive display of youthful courage," agreed Gai. "That last charge was worthy of the Green Beast himself!" He clapped a beefy hand down on Neji's shoulder.

"Sensei," panted Neji, under the hand like a lead weight, "please … have Shino call these bugs off me. I think I might faint."

"What?" asked Gai absently, while Lee continued cheering. Meanwhile Tenten sprinted over to where Shino lay and murmured something to him.

Suddenly the bugs stopped feeding, and the few remaining survivors crawled out of Neji's clothing and took to the air. Gai jerked his hand back abruptly when a beetle crossed onto his knuckles. The insects rejoined their master, now being led across the training ground by Tenten.

"You fought well," the bug tamer said to Neji. "It will take at least a week for my insects to repopulate." Shino's voice was calm and mild, belying what might otherwise have sounded like an accusation.

"You too," said Neji. "Though I hope you don't mind if I say I never want to battle you again." The whole thing had been rather sickening, even more so now that he was beginning to notice a greasy slick of bug remains on his hands and shins. He tried wiping his palms off on his robes and found himself glad he couldn't see the result.

"That was interesting," boomed Tsunade's voice from few meters away. "If either of you needs medical treatment, you'll have to come to me – there's no way I'm stepping in all of that."

Neji thought that was rather rich for a woman whose personal summon was a giant slug, but kept the thought to himself. He had other things he wanted to ask the Hokage right now.

"Well?" demanded Gai. "Is that enough? Does he pass?" All of them, even Shino, held their breaths.

"Of course," said Tsunade. "He won, didn't he? Though it would have been better if he'd come out of it with more chakra left."

"Yes, but on a real mission he would have us!" protested Lee.

"That's true. And I hope that will be your attitude in the Land of Rivers, while you're hunting down those missing-nin. You three will depart tomorrow. And Neji, if you succeed, I will promote you to _chuunin_ on your return."

Something, some kind of tightness he hadn't been conscious of, unclenched inside him. It was done, it was all right. All that he'd had, all that he'd been, he was about to regain. Until this moment he hadn't been sure, but now he felt a deep conviction that everything was going to be fine.

***

Tsunade had led Shino off to the hospital to treat his injuries, and Gai and Lee had taken off on another run, claiming to be inspired by Neji's performance. They invited Tenten to join them of course, an offer she'd quietly declined. Now Neji and Tenten were alone for the first time all winter, and the terrifying awkwardness was back.

Neji threw down his third dirty bandage, greasy with insect remains wiped from his skin and clothes. Tsunade had offered the bandages in lieu of towels, and he'd gladly accepted. He had no desire to walk through the village looking any more ghastly than he had to. Tenten was sitting a little distance away watching him, still holding that _kunai _(he could hear her dragging it across the frozen ground occasionally) and trying to guide his efforts verbally, since he couldn't see what he was doing.

He bent down to scoop up a fourth bandage, which he quickly unrolled and folded in half to form a narrow rectangular towel. "Where next?" he asked Tenten.

_Scrape!_ She drew another line in the ground with the point of the _kunai_. "Well, you've gotten most of it on your legs and hands," she said. "But I think you must have touched your face after you crushed all those bugs, because it's on your forehead and cheeks too."

Neji quickly lifted a hand up to check, and sure enough he felt a sticky smear studded with the hard bumps of beetle shells. "Hn," he grunted. "You might have told me about that first."

"No point until your hands were clean," she retorted. "And that couldn't happen until you dealt with the mess on your legs. Besides, since when are you vain?"

"I don't consider it vanity to not want dead bugs on my face."

"I bet Shino does."

He had nothing to say to that, and a silence gaped between them. He wiped carefully away at his face, noting with irritation that some of the beetles seemed to have found their way up into his hair. _Scrape!_ "You know," he said eventually, "that that will dull the blade."

He couldn't use the _chousen_, but he could have sworn he felt her shrug. "Then I'll sharpen it again."

"Hn. Waste of effort."

Something flew past his head, less than a centimeter from his ear, to lodge with a _thwack_ in the tree behind him. "Seems sharp enough to me," she said. "And I had to find some way to fill the time while I was waiting."

Slowly he lowered the cloth from his forehead. He forced himself to hold it loosely in his hand, though what he really wanted was to clutch it like a lifeline. "I see."

_Thwack._ Another _kunai_ lodged itself in the tree beside the first one. He hadn't even heard her draw it. " 'I see,'" she echoed, "and 'Hn'. Do you know how hard you are to talk to?"

He spat out the first ill-advised answer that came to mind, though he caught himself before putting _hn_ in front of it. "As I've never tried to have a conversation with myself, not really."

To his relief she chose to ignore this, for which he was grateful. He didn't _think_ she'd throw a _kunai_ directly at him. "You told me to wait," she said flatly. "And I have, and you're a ninja again. Now what?"

It was good he couldn't amplify his hearing at the moment, as it was likely his own heartbeat would have drowned out every other sound. "I'm … not really sure," he replied honestly. He noted with some pride that his voice came out steady, if not exactly calm.

"Pfft," she said derisively, and then to his alarm she got up and walked over to stand very near, within an arm's reach. "I'm tired of waiting." Suddenly he felt the cloth yanked roughly from his hand. "I'll do that. You missed a spot."

He held very still and didn't breathe as she reached up and gently drew the cloth across his forehead and down his temple. When she neared the tape securing the bandages over his eyes he reacted reflexively, his hand moving on its own to grasp her wrist and hold it. From there it was easy and natural to pull her in closer, easier yet to kiss her.

When they separated Neji had found his voice again. "You don't have to wait anymore," he told her.

"Good," she replied. "I really was getting tired of it. During the battle I kept wondering what Shino looks like under the jacket."

He snorted and smiled tightly, then let her finish cleaning his face.

**A/N: Thanks again to mafalda for the detailed comments. This time though, I'm not sure I agree. I've never accepted that Neji lived with Hiashi; instead I think he lives at a separate Branch House with fellow members of the Branch Family. In my mind, I decided those were the ones helping him with personal things like eating and dressing. Though, your idea about having someone live with him to help did occur to me -- I thought of having him room with Gai. In the end though, that's just too much awesomeness for this author to handle, and I've put poor Neji through enough. Thanks again for the input -- I really do appreciate it, especially when it gives me things to think about.**


	6. And Lost

The mission took them southwest of Konoha, to the bottommost tip of the Land of Rivers, and in these lower latitudes the progress of spring was more advanced. Neji couldn't see the sunlight but he could feel it, just as he could hear the soft wind sighing through the tall grasses and the calls of hungry animals newly emerged from hibernation. Stoic though he was, even he couldn't help but feel a kind of muted contentment at these signs of warmth and rebirth.

Of course, his mood probably had something to do with the kunoichi beside him. Neji was private and undemonstrative, but he found himself periodically suppressing the urge to reach over and lay a hand on Tenten's shoulder.

"Lee, _stop that_!" she shouted suddenly. "Leave that thing alone!" Lee was darting all around them, having flushed out some small animal and decided to give chase.

"What is it?" Neji asked curiously. "A squirrel?" Lee had an odd affinity for squirrels.

"No, I think it's a rabbit," she replied. "I wonder if I could hit it at this distance …" Metal clanged; she had drawn a _kunai_ and was pointing it outward, sighting speculatively along the blade.

Lee saw this and jogged back to join them, positioning himself in front of her with his arms spread wide. "Do not do it, Tenten-san!"

She snorted and returned the _kunai_ to her pack. "I wouldn't have even thought of it if you hadn't been chasing it around. What's with you, anyway? You seem even more hyper than usual."

He fell in beside them. "Is that not obvious? I am excited because we are finally Team Gai again, out together on a mission! That is cause for celebration!"

Neji felt Tenten glance over at him. "Yes it is," she agreed.

All this comradeship was too much. Gai wasn't with them, but he seemed to have infected their minds during the long hard winter. "I bet the men we're supposed to kill would disagree," said Neji dourly.

A grim silence settled over them, until Lee saw another rabbit and ran off to catch it. Tenten snickered. " 'The men we're supposed to kill would disagree' – you couldn't take it anymore, could you? You just had to add a little gloom."

"It was noticeably lacking, so I decided to fill the gap. That's what teamwork is all about."

She chuckled. "And they say you don't have a sense of humor." Then she grew quiet, folding her arms to stare pensively down at the ground. "It's true though, isn't it?"

"What's true?"

"It's true that we have to take this seriously, and be careful not to let our feelings interfere. That's a quick way to die."

Ah. She was right of course. There was a reason teammates were usually counseled against romantic attachments. "Yes. Will that be a problem for you?"

She gave a one-shouldered shrug. "I don't know. I don't have any experience with this."

"Nor I."

"We'll just have to figure it out as we go, I guess." Her voice took on a mischievous tone. "We'll be fine as long as you follow my orders."

"Hn." Neji was still technically a _genin_, so Lady Tsunade had made Tenten the team captain for this mission. It stung a little, not because he considered Tenten incompetent but because _he'd_ always been the one in charge. He would have to trust her judgment, which he thought he could handle, but like so many other things it was new territory.

"In the distance," she said eventually, "there's a river. It's wide and sort of bluish-silver. And I can see a small town on the near bank. I think that must be Kusanaka."

Kusanaka was their destination, a tiny fishing village where their targets were rumored to have set up base. While they traveled Tenten had continuously described the scenery for him, claiming it was good practice in observation. With a pang Neji realized that just as he would never see for himself the sights she described, he would also never see her face again.

"How far?" he asked.

"Maybe a kilometer. We'll be there soon."

It wasn't long before Neji began to pick up the sounds of the town, a babble of voices over the lazy rush of the river, and then the rays of his _chousen_ struck the first of Kusanaka's outbuildings.

"It's a small place," Tenten told him as they stepped onto a street. "Just a couple of streets, a few dozen buildings. There's a lot of boats moored on the river, though." That it was a small town, Neji could tell for himself – none of the buildings they passed had more than a single storey.

"We must find out where our targets are hiding!" said Lee. "Should we ask someone, Tenten-san?"

"Well," she began uncertainly, before Neji reached out to grip her forearm tightly. "Neji, what—"

"Shhh," he said, pointing to his ear. In one of the buildings they had just passed, a heated conversation was going on. He focused his hearing in that direction, and was soon able to discern every word.

"—give them what they want," someone, a woman, was saying. From the sound of her voice, Neji guessed she was crying.

A man answered her. "But we can't give in to them. If we do it will only encourage them, and tomorrow it will be somebody else's child. We have to take a stand, now."

The woman's sobs became louder, more distinct. "But then, Kei--"

"We'll hire some ninja from the Leaf or the Sand and do our best to get him back. But you must prepare yourself for the possibility that he won't survive."

Neji returned his hearing to normal as the woman dissolved into inchoate wailing. "I believe they are discussing our targets in the building we just passed on the right," he reported. "It seems they have kidnapped a child. The townsfolk have decided to hire a team of ninja to take care of the problem."

"You heard all that?" asked Tenten.

He nodded.

"Well, if it's ninja they want, they're in luck. Let's go introduce ourselves."

Team Gai turned back and made for the building they'd just passed, a boxy affair made of wood. Within, Neji could feel several bulky shapes, likely the furniture, and hear the heartbeats of two people sitting across from one another on the floor.

"Who are you?" the man demanded when they stepped inside.

"We're Leaf-nin," Tenten replied unabashedly, pointing to her forehead-protector. "We heard you might have need of us."

The woman gave a watery gasp as the man spluttered, "But how is that _possible_? We hadn't even decided what hidden village to contact yet!"

"We were in the neighborhood. But what sort of a problem did you need help with?"

The man gave a low grunt, undecided about whether to trust them. But the woman stood up and crossed the small room in a few steps, then dropped down to her knees and clutched at Tenten's hand.

"Please!" she begged tearfully. "Save my son!"

Neji would have snatched his hand back first thing, but Tenten let the other woman hold on. "Save him from who?" she asked in a soft voice that didn't sound like her at all.

"Chieko, don't—" began the man.

Chieko ignored him and spoke directly to Tenten. "From bandits! I run the inn here, and they've kidnapped him and are holding him for ransom!"

"Why not just pay, if the child's life is at risk?" asked Neji.

"It's not just money they want," replied the man reluctantly. "It's food, lodging, the run of the whole town. But we just can't allow that – these are missing-nin we're talking about."

"Missing-nin?" echoed Lee eagerly. "Do you know what village they come from?"

"I've only seen them once. But I believe the slashed symbol they wore was that of Iwa."

Iwa, the same village Ryu Takada hailed from. There was no doubt about it, these kidnappers had to be the very people Team Gai had been dispatched to take care of.

"We'll take them out." Tenten said it as though she had just come to the decision. "And get the boy back if he's still alive. But you have to tell us – where are they hiding?"

Chieko released Tenten's hand to throw her arms around her legs. "Thank you, thank you!" she sobbed. "The bandits are camped upstream from here, right beside the river. That's where they've taken Kei."

"They don't even bother to hide themselves anymore," added the man bitterly.

"How many of them are there?" asked Neji.

"Four. And they're all hideously strong. Are you sure your single squad will be enough?"

"Of course it will!" said Lee. "We are Team Gai of the Leaf!"

"Hmph. I'll believe it when I see it."

Tenten carefully extricated herself from the grip of the grateful woman. "Then let's not waste any more time," she said. "Let's go."

They exited the building and headed purposefully toward the river, leaving two rather stunned civilians behind.

"That was impressive," said Neji quietly to Tenten.

"What was?"

"The way you got that woman to talk. The man was suspicious of us and I can't blame him. But by showing some sympathy you obtained the information we needed. Lady Tsunade was right to put you in charge."

Her heart beat a little faster at the unexpected praise. But all she said was, "Oh, I don't know. I bet Lee could have won them over with a speech about youth. Maybe he should have been captain."

"Hn."

***

_Just before departing on the mission, on his way to meet his team at the village gates, he was intercepted by Hinata. It was very early and the street was nearly deserted, so that he recognized her shuffling tread immediately. Over the last few months of training he had come to know it almost as well as Lee's or Tenten's._

_"Hinata-sama," he said, coming to halt. "I am sorry, but I do not have time to speak with you now. I must meet my team."_

_"Y-yes," she said softly, "I know. For a mission."_

_"Shino told you?"_

_"Yes. He did not expect to lose to you, nii-san. He was impressed. And I just, um, came to say … congratulations."_

_"Thank you, Hinata-sama. I could not have come this far without your help." He was not flattering her – she had inspired the chousen, after all._

_She looked down at the ground. "Yesterday, Father said that you have already improved so much that you are stronger than me. And I agree with him. You are amazing, nii-san." Her voice had quieted to a murmur that would have challenged normal hearing._

_"That was unkind of him," said Neji, surprising himself. He never openly spoke on the relationship between Hiashi and Hinata – that was Main House business, and a dangerous topic for him. But somehow the events of the previous day seemed to have loosened his self-control, made him speak before thinking._

_Hinata's feet shuffled and her eyes stayed glued to the ground. Her hands were fiddling with something, a small cylinder Neji hadn't noticed until this moment. "Well, um, that's not what I wanted to … I-I mean, I just came to say congratulations, and, um, good luck. On your mission – good luck."_

_"Thank you." Better to keep it short and avoid any more fraught topics. He bowed slightly to her and made as if to continue on his way._

_"Neji-nii san!" she called in alarm as he stepped past her, "Wait!"_

_He halted and turned back in her direction, eyebrows raised. The next thing he knew, she was clumsily thrusting the cylinder into his hands._

_"It's tea!" she said quickly. "I m-made you tea for the journey!"_

_He shifted the cylinder – a canteen – slightly, and heard liquid slosh inside. It was warm in his hands. "Thank you," he said again. It was thoughtful, if a bit odd. He stowed the canteen away, nodded at her, and turned to go._

_"Say hello to Tenten-san for me!" Hinata called behind him._

_Neji didn't stop or call back to her, but he felt his face flushing and inwardly shook his head. His cousin always kept him off balance. Just when he thought he understood her, she always seemed to pull out that last blow, couched in kindness and deadly accurate._

_"Weak indeed," he muttered to himself._

***

The targets were sharing a single tent, pitched a mere two meters from the sluggish river. Tenten told him she saw the remains of a fire in front of it, doused now that it was afternoon and fairly warm. Four men moved about the campsite, washing clothes and dishes in the river, periodically checking a few fishing nets they had set, and speaking to each other in low voices. Every so often one of them would duck inside the tent to check on the hostage, whose frightened whimpers Neji could clearly hear.

Team Gai was hidden some distance away, observing. "If not for the hostage," whispered Tenten, "I could just take all four of them out with explosives from here."

"Yes, but we cannot risk hurting the child!" said Lee. "Even your explosives are not that accurate, Tenten-san."

She nodded, conceding the point. "I think we'll have to flush them out, and attack them individually when they run." A little uncertainty crept into her voice. "Does that sound right to you, Neji?"

"You are in charge. It's your decision." He paused. "But in my opinion it's a good plan."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm going to launch a weapons attack at them from this direction, to drive them downstream. I want you two to circle around and lie in wait – when they're fleeing me, they should run right into you. I'll follow behind to grab the hostage and deal with anyone who turns back. A prisoner or two would be nice, but don't take any risks. Kill them if you have to."

"Right," said Neji and Lee together. Then Tenten waved them off, and they sprinted off into the grasslands, circling around to come back to the river downstream from the camp. Lee took out a _kunai_ and carefully turned the blade to flash in the sun – a signal to Tenten.

A few seconds passed, and Neji imagined Tenten taking up her great scroll and unrolling it to the proper length, then biting her thumb to summon the attack of her choice.

Suddenly stuttered explosions ripped the air, and from across the camp Neji heard the whistling flight of hundreds of different projectiles.

"Clones!" said Lee in awe.

"What?" asked Neji.

"Tenten-san has coordinated her weapons attack with the clone jutsu, and transformed the clones to look like various Leaf-nin! It looks from here as if a whole army of shinobi is attacking the camp, together with a massive weapons assault!"

"I see." It made sense – the plan wouldn't work if Tenten couldn't get the enemy to run, and they were unlikely to flee from a single opponent. But the huge amount of weapons she could use, together with a simple jutsu like clones, could combine to give the impression of greater numbers and scare the missing-nin into flight.

Neji had a fix on the positions of all four of their opponents, and felt it clearly as each of them turned to run. There was a danger here, that one of them would snatch up the hostage to use as a human shield, but none of them thought to do it. Tenten had scared them too badly and they were in a panic.

"Here they are!" said Lee excitedly, and then he popped up out of the grass to meet the first fleeing bandit. The man reacted fast, dodging Lee's kick, then drew back a few meters and began making hand signs. Lee would have to contend with _ninjutsu_.

But Neji didn't have any time to worry about his teammate, who from the sound of things was managing fine on his own. There was a bandit closing in on his own position, zigzagging frantically to avoid the volley of _kunai_ and _shuriken_ at his back. As a result Neji would not be able to pierce him with the _chousen_, since his command of the jutsu wasn't perfect yet and it still took him a few seconds to properly focus a ray. That had been his problem against Shino, and he would not make the same mistake twice. Instead he tracked the man, waiting for him to draw closer.

This one seemed a bit dense, for he was running while looking over his shoulder, apparently not taking his comrade's predicament as a sign that he too was heading into an ambush. But that was good for Neji. He quickly withdrew a _kunai_ from his kit and listened hard to the fleeing man's sound, gauging its speed and location. Then he rose up and threw the little knife at the spot where he guessed his opponent would be in the next instant, and was rewarded with the wet sound of a blade sinking into flesh. The missing-nin went down and was silent.

Neji thought he was beginning to understand Tenten's enthusiasm for her craft, because that had been _satisfying_. There was no time to gloat, though, as he was now standing upright and fully visible to the next opponent running his way. The man spotted him and began to slow. This turned out to be a grave error on his part, leaving him with insufficient speed to escape the hail of weapons behind him. Neji heard a soft _thud_ in the earth at the enemy's feet, then quickly cut off his enhanced hearing to avoid taking the auditory brunt of the explosion that followed. After a few seconds he resumed channeling chakra to his ears, and where the missing-nin had stood his _chousen_ rays could now find only a shallow crater.

That made two, and with a few painful crunching sounds Lee dispatched his opponent. Now there was only one man left. He had seen the demise of the others and was crouched low beside the river, holding a sword in his right hand and regarding them warily.

"Throw down your weapon and surrender," Lee told him. "You do not have to die."

"Two of you," he spat. "Two _kids._ I can't believe it. And I thought we were being attacked by an army."

"Scum like you doesn't merit an army," said Neji coldly. In the tent, he could still hear the child moving, crying in fear at the sounds of the battle. Truly these missing-nin were trash, the lowest of the low.

"You can't even see me, can you?" mocked the man. "Who ever heard of a blind ninja?"

"You have, right now. Neji Hyuuga. Now do as my teammate told you and drop your weapon."

Instead the man sneered and made some hand signs, then called, "Water style: Water clone jutsu!" From the slow-moving river behind him rose three more bodies, of exactly the same size and shape as his own. They leaped to the bank to join their creator, and the four identical men shuffled around in an odd sort of dance until Neji could no longer tell which was which.

"Neji-san!" said Lee. "I cannot tell them apart!"

"That hardly matters," he replied. "We gave him a chance to surrender and he refused. Just kill them all."

"Right!"

Together they rushed at the men, and Lee immediately engaged a pair of them. His opponent was very good with his sword, and it felt and sounded as though Lee was having a hard time of it, taking multiple slash wounds.

Neji hung back a little distance, facing the remaining two clones squarely. He considered his strategy. If one of these was the _real_ opponent and could be disabled, that would have the effect of dissipating the pair battling Lee.

"A blind ninja," one of them said in amusement. "How ridiculous."

"It's absurd," agreed the other. "Dangerous to his comrades, but lucky for us." The pair laughed in tandem.

Neji could hear the way both of them sloshed, the faint watery noises they gave off. His Byakugan had never been able to distinguish between real people and solid clones, but his chakra-enhanced hearing could, and these two were definitely not real. It had to be the case, then, that it was one of Lee's opponents that was the genuine article.

But then Neji remembered his fight with Shino, they way there had been one more clone than he thought. What if something like that was going on now? He listened again, more carefully, and noticed a strange doubling effect with the clone on the right, as if there were actually _two_ people breathing there, two sets of heartbeats not totally in synch. As if someone were standing behind the clone, invisible to the _chousen_.

It was clever. Lee was distracted by his own fight and hadn't noticed his hidden enemy, and by ducking behind a water clone the missing-nin had eluded Neji's senses. Not anymore, though, and so long as the man remained still, Neji had a chance to kill him from a distance.

Neji threw a _kunai_ and purposely missed, sending it between the two clones facing him. They laughed loudly. "Pitiful," said one. "It's almost enough to make me want to spare your life."

"Speak for yourself!" said the other. "I think we should put him out of his misery, like a horse with a broken leg!"

They both thought that was funny, guffawing loudly. But Neji gained enough time, while they mocked him, to compress his chakra into a thin line running between himself and the clone on the right.

"My misery will die with you," he said coolly, and sent a burst of chakra into the clone's chest, to pierce straight through to the body of the person behind it.

He expected to hear a shout and the slight popping noise solid clones gave off when they dissipated. But in that second that should have heralded his triumph, it all went wrong. What he heard was not the cry of his opponent, but someone else.

Tenten.

_She_ had been the one hiding behind the clone, shielding herself not from Neji or Lee but the missing-nin, who didn't yet know of her existence. Like a good shinobi she had been watching and waiting for a chance to strike. And Neji had sent a ray of intense chakra right through the clone in front of her, into her chest, and run her through.

***

The hallway was cool and quiet, imbued with that hushed sense of gravity common to hospitals everywhere. People walked, and breathed, and spoke in low voices, but the very walls seemed to swallow up the sound and return it hollow and diminished. Or maybe he was low on chakra and not hearing properly, or maybe all the noise was drowned out by his own tortured thoughts. Just now, he didn't really care which.

He sat on a low bench beside Lee and Gai, outside a set of double doors. Had Neji wished he could have listened in on the room beyond the doors, but despite his urgent need for information he lacked the will to do it. He was afraid of what he might hear.

After an interminable agonizing period that could have been five minutes or five hours, the doors opened and a crisp heavy tread approached them. The Hokage came to a halt in front of Team Gai and spoke.

"She's going to make it. There was serious damage to her heart, but I've repaired it. She'll be able to train again in a few weeks."

Gai let out a breath, so loud it sounded like the surfacing of a whale, and Lee gave a soft "Oh!" of relief. But Neji said nothing.

He could feel them all looking at him, waiting. "Did you hear that Neji-san?" asked Lee finally. "It is all right! Tenten-san will be all right!"

"Of course I heard. You know my hearing is enhanced by chakra. I probably heard it better than you."

His anger wasn't really directed at Lee, of course. If anything, he owed his teammate gratitude. It was Lee who had disabled the last missing-nin, opening five of his eight inner gates in the process. Neji had been too stunned to do anything.

"I am sorry, Neji-san," said Lee after a moment.

"No, I'm sorry. You saved all our lives. It's not your fault. It's mine."

"Neji—" began Gai.

"No." He cut off his teacher, and turned his bandaged empty eyesockets up toward Tsunade. "Madame Hokage, thank you for the chance you gave me to prove myself. But I see now that I cannot be a ninja without my vision. Consider this my resignation."

Tsunade folded her arms across her massive chest and looked at him steadily. "I'm sorry to hear that, Neji. But I agree with you – this is not going to work. You'll have to find another path."

He had been afraid she would argue with him, but he should have known better. Despite her youthful appearance Tsunade was old, and had seen many things, and knew the end when she saw it.

The same could not be said for Lee. "Hokage-sama! You must not let him give up! Anyone can make a mistake, Neji-san! You only need more practice. I am certain Tenten-san would agree."

"It's hard to say, since she's lying in a hospital bed with a hole in her heart," Neji answered coldly. "A hole _I_ put there. Any other ninja would have seen it was her behind the clone. You saw that, didn't you?" What Neji had taken for Lee's distraction had actually been willful silence on his teammate's part, a choice to keep quiet and let Tenten join the fight at the correct moment.

"Well, yes, but—"

"And any shinobi with eyes would have done the same. You would have been better off with someone else on your team, someone who can tell an ally from an enemy. Even the greenest _genin_ would have been a better choice."

Lee sighed. The logic was inescapable, but he was not the kind to give in to reality – he'd spent his whole career fighting it, spurred on by a single idea. "But Neji-san," he said seriously, "what about your _way_?"

"My way is not more important than Tenten's life, or yours, Lee." Neji reached up behind his head, under his hair, and found what he was looking for, the knot that held his forehead-protector in place. He untied it and let the band fall from his face. To his teammates, to the Hokage, his forehead would now be exposed, along with the blue curse mark he'd worn since the age of four.

He held the forehead protector out to the Hokage and felt her extend a hand to take it from him. He'd received it as a new _genin_, a symbol of pride and service to the village, and he didn't deserve to wear it anymore. Just before Tsunade's hand would have closed on it he let it go, deliberately letting it slip from his fingers to fall to the ground. It landed on the tile floor with a high and desolate ring, the final faint tolling of a bell.


	7. Deus Ex Hinata

Deep night in the Leaf was a time of stillness. The citizenry had long since gone to bed, and those shinobi assigned to guard duty patrolled stealthily, quieter than nocturnal animals on the hunt. In setting the retreating sun had taken the springtime warmth with it, leaving Konoha to shiver in a wintry chill. Overhead a brisk wind blew thin clouds across the face of the full moon, so that the village was bathed in pale quicksilver light. Of course Neji couldn't see the moonlight, and with his _chousen_ and chakra-enhanced hearing deactivated he knew only darkness, cold, silence.

Here, on this balcony overlooking the village, Team Gai had gathered for the first time. The intervening years had seen them all mature, overcoming danger and hardship to become stronger individually and as a unit. Now, for him, the journey that began that day was at an end. Exhausted but unable to sleep, Neji sat on a bench alone and considered the future.

Try as he might he could not picture himself as a civilian. His training had taught him nothing of regular life, fit him for nothing save missions and combat. Outside of _ninjutsu_ he had no skills and no interests. Of course the clan would continue to house and feed him for as long as he lived, so that survival was not a problem. He could retreat behind the walls of the Branch House's compound, to spend his days directing the household activity and navigating the politics of the clan and the village. But caretaking was typically a role for elders, not for young men. And when Neji thought of himself standing beside the cynical dried-up patriarchs of his family, associating with the same old men who had not hesitated to see him cursed or order his father's death, he felt sick. He would rather die than become like them.

That was something to which he was lending serious consideration – death. It was only logical that if his life no longer had a purpose it should end. There would be no stigma; on the contrary, many people would consider it the only honorable choice. And given all he had lost, the desolation of his soul, he could not deny the appeal of suicide. It would mean the end of his shame and pain, and no more need for hard choices. Having been conditioned from childhood to regard death with calm acceptance, Neji did not fear it.

And yet, despite everything, he didn't really want to die. His father Hizashi had died partly for his sake, and it would be poor repayment to throw his life away rashly. Then too there were those who would grieve him, his comrades and his teammates. His team would no doubt blame themselves, and Tenten in particular was sure to curse herself for the part she'd played. No, if he took his life now it would only bring pain and guilt to everyone he cared about, make him more of a burden than he was already. It would be the height of selfishness.

Suicide was out; he couldn't be a ninja; he didn't know how to be a civilian. His hands clenched in his lap, clutching at the fabric of his robes, making it bunch and wrinkle. "Father," he said into the quiet, "what am I supposed to do now?"

There was no reply of course, only the still cold night. Neji sighed and forced his hands to relax. Hizashi was long dead. As always, Neji would have to find his own answers.

The building behind him was supposed to be empty this time of night, with the exception of the periodic patrol of the village's guards. But now Neji heard something, footsteps echoing in a deserted hallway. To be audible to him now, when he was not channeling chakra to his ears, they had to be rather close. They grew inexorably louder, until he could discern their nature, their hesitant shuffle.

"Hinata-sama," he said when she finally stepped onto the balcony. At least it wasn't Lee; he'd been afraid his ex-teammate would find him and launch into another speech about overcoming adversity.

"Neji-nii san," she replied. "I went to the hospital first to find you. Your teammates said you might be here."

"I left so that I could be alone to think." He was hoping she'd take the hint.

"Yes, I thought so."

Evidently he was going to have to be more forceful. "If you don't mind, Hinata-sama, I still have many things to consider. I would appreciate being left in peace."

He expected her to stammer out an apology and shuffle away, but instead she moved closer, sat down beside him. "But I _do_ mind, nii-san. I came all the way here to find you."

Her assertiveness stunned him. All he could think to say was, "I see."

He felt her settle back into a more comfortable position. "I'm, um, surprised that you left the hospital, nii-san. I don't know her that well, but I'm sure Tenten-san would like it if you stayed with her."

Was she _criticizing_ him? "She's still unconscious," he said flatly. "My being there can't do her any good, especially as I'm the one who injured her."

"So… when she wakes up, will you... ?"

"I will not see her."

"Oh." She paused. "I th-think you might be underestimating her, nii-san. I don't think she would reject you just because you are no longer a ninja."

Hinata had already demonstrated that she knew something of his private feelings for Tenten, but this intrusiveness was not acceptable. "That has nothing to do with you," he said, a little more coldly than intended.

To his renewed surprise, she still didn't let the matter drop. "You should have more confidence in someone you care about," she said sharply, a note of vehemence in her tone.

He just didn't have the will to argue right now. "You're right," he admitted, "I don't think she'd reject me. I'm sure she'd tell me that it's not my fault and she forgives me. But that's not the issue. _I_ have not forgiven myself, and I have neither the right nor the desire to approach her like this. While I was still a shinobi I could imagine some parity between us, but now I have nothing to offer her. The blind, defenseless consort of a kunoichi of Tenten's caliber? It's absurd, pathetic, and I won't be a party to it."

Hinata drew back a little at his harsh words. But Neji meant everything he'd said; his pride would not allow him to be with someone so obviously superior to him in every way. At one time he might have been worthy of her, but he no longer was and never would be again. In his mind his relationship with Tenten and status as a ninja were inextricably linked, so that relinquishing the latter meant losing the former. The fact that his longing for her had only grown more acute did not change the reality of his situation or the nature of his personality.

"You've given up on a lot of things," Hinata observed after a moment. "It seems like you won't ever be happy like this."

He shrugged. She was probably right. "There are some things even effort cannot change. My blindness is one. And now we know another: it is not possible for a blind man to be a shinobi."

She sighed. "After what happened, Father agrees with you, and I suppose … I do too. If anyone could have made it work it was you, but after all our preparation it was still impossible. That's why I came to find you."

"I don't understand. If you agree that my career as a ninja is over, why did you want to speak to me?"

"I-I had to see if it was possible … for you to be happy, even if you weren't a shinobi."

"Why would you care about something like that?"

She took a deep breath. "Since you sustained your injury, I have known of a way I could help you. B-but it frightens me, and I didn't want to do it if there was an alternative. Now I know there isn't."

He sat up straighter, clutched at his robes once more. "You don't mean—?"

"Yes. I will give you one of my eyes, nii-san, and restore your Byakugan."

His heart began to pound as he imagined it. It would fix everything, make everything possible again …

"No," he said hoarsely, "I won't allow it." Each word cost him dearly; refusing her offer hurt almost as much as losing his sight in the first place.

"I did not ask if you would allow it, nii-san. Tomorrow I will go to the hospital and have Sakura remove one of my eyes. You could refuse to use it, of course, but that would be a terrible waste."

She hadn't stuttered once; she was completely serious.

"Why?" Neji demanded. "Why would you go so far for me?"

"You said it before, nii-san: I am too kind to be a ninja. I never liked hurting other people, or seeing them in pain. And you are in pain now, and I can help you. So I will."

"When I said that, I was mistaken. About many things, but especially about you. You deserve your Byakugan as much as anyone, and I don't want to take it away from you." Saying it made it true; Neji felt the burgeoning desire to possess Hinata's eyes leave him as he realized it would mean depriving his cousin of some of her hard-won strength.

"You wouldn't be taking it all, nii-san. There's no reason a Hyuuga can't function as well with one eye as with two. If anything, with more chakra to devote to a single eye, my range should increase."

He thought of another objection, this one insurmountable. "Lord Hyuuga would never allow it."

"I … wouldn't be so sure of that. If we only tell him after the fact, I think he'll accept it. He's always considered you the pride of our clan, and if it restores your skill, he'll probably consider the sacrifice of one of my eyes worth it. Besides, nii-san, seeing you like this …. I th-think making Father angry is no worse than the alternative."

She had a point. The activation of his curse mark could not be more painful than the idea of a future without _ninjutsu_, without Tenten. He breathed deeply, struggling to marshal his thoughts against the powerful emotions gripping him. He was actually _shaking_.

Regardless of what he might want, it would be wrong to allow her to make such a decision lightly. "Hinata-sama," he began, "to lose one of your eyes is … is …" He couldn't find a word to express it, its horror and enormity. "I didn't realize how much my eyes meant to me until they were gone. I would not wish that loss on anyone, and certainly not on you. I'm not sure you understand exactly what you're offering to do."

"I'm sorry, nii-san, b-but I think maybe it's you who doesn't understand. I know it will be difficult, and require training to adjust. But I'm not doing it just for you. I also have something to prove, to myself, and … and to Father." Her voice hardened in a way he had never heard before. "He hasn't decided yet who should succeed him, me or Hanabi. At first he favored her because he thought I was weak. He doesn't think that anymore, but I know he still wonders if my temperament is, well, _suitable_. I want to prove to him that it is. If I give you an eye, it will demonstrate courage. And through an act of kindness I will enhance the strength of the clan and of the village, and close the rift between the Main and Branch Houses. I will show my father that my way, the way of kindness and harmony, does not have to be weak."

It was the most he'd ever heard her say at one time. "What you're talking about," Neji said slowly, "is changing the way of our clan." Undeniably, if Hinata took Hiashi's place, things would change. For one thing, he could not imagine her putting a curse mark on anybody.

"Yes," she agreed. "But I can do more if I am made the official heir. It would also help if I had an ally. Someone strong enough to command attention."

The night wind gusted through the open balcony, giving him another chill to add to the one caused by his cousin's words. This timid girl he'd once tried to kill was offering him a return to his life at least, and a chance to rewrite the tragic story of their clan at best. When had she become this bold?

"Whatever your answer is, Neji-nii san, I will still give you my eye. But once I do …will you help me? Will you help me to change the Hyuuga?"

His tear ducts had been burned away along with the rest of his eyes, for which he felt a sudden rush of gratitude. Through a throat constricted by emotion he said tightly, "Yes, I will help you, Hinata-sama."

Always before he'd added the honorific to her name out of obligation, sometimes shading it with bitterness or irony. Now as he spoke the word that elevated her above himself he did so with warmth and admiration. Now, for the first time, he _meant_ it.


	8. New Light and Old Dark

"Shut the curtains."

The junior medic-nin moved swiftly to obey, and an instant later the sound of rustling fabric came from the area of the window. Neji strained hard but discerned no difference, no change in the quality of the darkness blinding him. It was the same featureless blackness that had been with him since that awful fall day.

The junior medic-nin stood where he was, fidgeting slightly. Neji could practically feel the boy's gaze burning into the side of his face, his avid fascination.

"You can go," said Sakura sharply. "Close the door." Reluctantly he left, lingering briefly in the doorway until Sakura's raised fist frightened him off. The door latched behind him with a dry resonant click.

Muttering under her breath about nosy _genin_, Sakura stepped up to the head of the bed. "It's time," she said simply. From where she stood with Lee and Gai, Tenten drew in a long breath and held it.

Neji gave a tiny nod, then felt Sakura's fingers on his right temple, working at the tape that secured his bandage. She scraped at it gently with her nails, trying to peel it up gradually.

"Just rip it off," he said hoarsely. "Don't worry about hurting me." He'd already waited months, and somehow these few extra seconds seemed intolerable.

Sakura's nails dug in, found purchase, and in one sudden motion she yanked her hand back and tore the tape away. The skin beneath it burned momentarily as a thick round bandage fell from his eye socket to land softly in his lap.

Now at last he noticed a difference. The right half of his visual field, stretching from somewhere near his ear to the center of his face, had changed color from inky black to gray.

"It's … lighter," he said into the expectant silence.

"Good," replied Sakura. "Then go ahead and open your eye, but slowly. It's dim in here, but even so you'll need time to adjust." The sound of her voice altered slightly as she turned her head. "And you'd better start breathing again, Tenten-san, or I'll have to call that irritating _genin_ back to administer first aid."

Tenten let out the air she'd been holding in one noisy exhalation, while Neji raised his eyelid a sliver. He fought an urge to do it all at once, to snap his eyelid abruptly open the way Sakura had ripped up the tape. It would put an end to this excruciating tension, but his brain, optic nerve, and new eye were not yet ready for such an onslaught.

On the left, where there was still only an empty socket covered by a second bandage, he of course saw nothing, but on the right a crescent of light had appeared. He opened his eyelid a bit more and it expanded, cutting into the gray. A bit more, and he could pick out details, neat interwoven lines running vertically and horizontally. It came to him that the brightness he saw was more than the simple absence of darkness, that it was a specific color – _yellow_. Finally he opened his eye all the way, to regard the flat expanse of lemon-colored blanket stretched over his hospital bed.

"Well?" asked Tenten breathlessly.

Neji's eye had begun stinging and streaming, a reaction to seeing light again after so long. The image of the blanket blurred and he reached up to wipe away the tears. "I would have preferred a room with neutral décor instead of yellow," he said.

He hadn't engaged his enhanced hearing, a fortunate choice given the noise that erupted in the little room. Gai's shout boomed off the cinderblock walls and Lee's joyful leaping caused the window to rattle in its pane, while Tenten broke into unabashed sobs. There was a lot of clapping and shuffling and a cacophonous babble of talk, an overlapping tangle of voices.

Neji didn't bother trying to follow the thread of what anyone was saying, which would have been impossible anyway. Instead he raised his gaze upward, tracking along the bed to where his comrades stood, to where he would be able to look at Tenten at last. He saw the foot of the bed and his chest tightened in anticipation; any second now he would see her again …

His focused on a person, the first he'd seen since being blinded. White teeth flashed brilliantly through the dimness, above a skintight green suit covering a body posed with one hand on a thrown-out hip, the other extended in a thumbs-up.

"Ugh!" cried Neji in shock and horror, clapping his right hand over his vulnerable new eye. "Sensei, _stop_ that!"

"What better reintroduction to the world of sight than a vision of youth?" demanded Gai. "And what purer vision of youth than me, the beautiful green beast of Konoha?"

Belatedly Neji realized that some of the movement and talk he'd heard had been his teammates positioning themselves at the end of his bed, possibly even arguing about the best arrangement. If he'd listened, he might have avoided making Gai's "good guy" pose the first thing he saw after months of blindness. Now it could never be undone. "Tenten?" he asked with his hand still over his eye, determined that the next face he saw should be hers.

"I'm here," she said from the space to Gai's immediate left. "I'm right here, Neji."

Neji turned his face in her direction and dropped his hand. In the low light he looked at her, clad in drab hospital garb, wan from the effects of the injury she still hadn't recovered from, hair tied up in a pair of functional buns. At the moment her eyes were puffy and her face was blotchy from crying.

"Tenten," he said, "you are even more beautiful than I remember."

She reddened more and buried her face in her hands, sobbing again. Neji just kept staring at her, at her smooth neck and broad powerful shoulders, her hands crisscrossed by multiple scars, her slim waist and muscular calves. He drank in the sight of her, and thought he could look forever.

A hand reached over to pat Tenten's shoulder awkwardly. It was carefully wrapped in white bandages that extended from an inch or so above the knuckles to just below the elbow, where they gave way to dark green fabric. "Please do not cry, Tenten-san," said Lee concernedly. "You should not exert yourself. You are still healing." His round eyes turned in Neji's direction. "How do you feel, Neji-san?" he asked.

Reluctantly Neji looked away from Tenten to regard his other teammate. Lee seemed much the same as always, perhaps a little bulkier. Even as he soothed Tenten he was pointedly averting his face from her; likely the exchange between her and Neji had made him uncomfortable.

"I feel fine, Lee," said Neji. "There is no pain, and my vision is … perfect."

Lee withdrew his hand from Tenten and smiled widely. "Then you will be able to take your place as my rival once again! I was not sure how I was going to continue my training if I did not have you to compete with. How long before you are able to use the Byakugan?"

"I don't know." He turned toward Sakura, who had retreated to a corner to give Team Gai some privacy. "What do you think, Sakura?"

She scanned his face critically. "Theoretically, you should be able to use it now. Hinata awoke earlier today and she's already activated hers. But I don't want you to try it until after we've run some tests and decided you're fit for release, probably sometime tomorrow."

"I see." Neji felt a stab of guilt on hearing his cousin's name – in all the excitement, he hadn't thought to ask after her. "And how is Hinata-sama?"

"Like I said, already awake and with full use of her Byakugan. We'll be sending her home tonight."

"Is she … impaired in any way?"

Sakura shrugged. "As expected, her depth perception is off, so she's had some trouble picking things up and performing simple tasks like eating. It's mainly a matter of adjustment – she just has to get used to seeing through one eye rather than two."

Adjustment … so she'd have to train. Neji relaxed; Hinata was nearly as used to tough training as Lee. And he would have to overcome the same difficulties, so they could do it together. He'd see her returned to her former skill if it killed him.

Sakura interrupted his thoughts. "The sooner we can get started on those tests, the sooner you can be discharged. But I need to concentrate to perform them, so it would be better if your team left. And Tenten-san should really be resting anyway."

"Then we'll go," said Gai decisively. He gave Neji another thumbs-up and winked. Neji had forgotten how disturbing it was when his teacher did that. "And when you get out, Neji, Lee and I have a treat planned for you – a running tour of all the most youthful sights in the village! I _know_ you've missed seeing them."

"Gai-sensei, that was supposed to be a surprise!" said Lee in alarm. "And it does not seem right to do it without Tenten-san. Perhaps we should wait until she is also released."

"Oh … good point Lee." Gai scowled, then brightened as a thought occurred to him. "Or else we could do it _twice_, once for Neji and once for Tenten!"

"That's an excellent plan, sensei!"

"It is, isn't it? Now let's take Tenten back to her room."

Tenten had stopped crying. As Lee took her arm and began carefully drawing her toward the door, she looked at Neji again. "Neji—" she began, then cut off, seemingly at a loss.

He thought he understood. There was so much to say, and yet they had only exchanged a few words before it was time to part again. "I'll come talk to you later," he said. She nodded and let Lee and Gai lead her out of the room.

He waited until she was out of earshot before asking Sakura, "How long until she's ready to leave?"

Sakura was selecting implements from a drawer. She frowned slightly. "It's hard to say. Tenten's injury was very serious, and though it's been repaired by Lady Tsunade, you don't just walk away after having a hole put in your heart. No less than a week."

Neji swallowed. He really had come close to killing her, then.

Sakura finished choosing her tools, among them a pencil-thin flashlight. She held them loosely in her hands and looked at him significantly, smirking. "She really will be fine as long as she gets enough peace and quiet. Anything that would agitate her, make her heart work harder than usual, should be avoided."

Neji was horrified. _What_ was she suggesting, with that knowing look in her eye? "I meant what I said!" he protested. "I'm only going to talk to her!"

Sakura shrugged, somehow managing to imbue the gesture with her doubt. "Fine, whatever. And as for that crazy run Gai and Lee mentioned" – she shook her head in disbelief –"there's no way she should do something like that immediately after she's released, unless your team would consent to take it easy."

He winced. "No chance of that. Do you suppose you could just lie to them about when she'll be released, give her time to escape?" Maybe she could lie for him too – whatever Gai considered a "youthful sight," Neji was fairly sure he didn't want to see it.

"No. You'll have to get Lady Tsunade to put them off – by the time Tenten-san's released, my suspension will have started, so I won't be around to do it."

She said it so matter-of-factly that at first it didn't register. Then her words sank in. "Suspension? What for?"

"For performing an eye transplant without permission, of course. Lady Tsunade never approved the surgery."

"You did all this without the Hokage's permission?" He would never have believed her, the Hokage's apprentice, capable of something like that. Though in retrospect it _had_ all been rather irregular – a surgery at sunrise, performed only by Sakura and one very junior assistant. They hadn't even signed in at the front desk.

"If we had asked her, she would have been bound to consult Lord Hyuuga. There would have been a nasty dispute and a long delay, and he might've managed to stop the whole thing."

"So you just decided to do it anyway, before anyone had the chance to tell you 'no'?" He was appalled – Hinata hadn't filled him in on the details, and in his eagerness he hadn't stopped to ask.

Sakura's brows contracted. "Are you complaining?"

"No, but—"

"Would it have changed your decision if you'd known the Hokage didn't approve?"

"Probably not." Even to him, some things were more important than following the rules.

"Then forget it." She clicked the small flashlight _on_ and began advancing toward him.

"Wait," he said, holding up his hands to block the light she was now trying to aim into his right eye. "What will happen to you – what's your punishment?"

"Two weeks' suspension starting tomorrow. I wanted to be able to make sure the transplant took, and Lady Tsunade agreed." She reached out and pushed his hands down. "Now hold still." She directed the flashlight's beam into his right eye and he immediately started tearing up again. His vision had adjusted to the dim hospital room, but looking into this light was painful.

"Was the Hokage angry?" He was forcing himself to continue facing her, blinking away tears.

"Oh, she punched a few holes in the wall, but that was mainly for show. I think punishing me was only to appease Lord Hyuuga. He wanted me dismissed. Look to the right."

He looked to the right, feeling his new eyeball roll smoothly in its socket. It was an odd sensation after so many weeks having nothing there. "Then, you spoke with Lord Hyuuga?"

"Yes. Look left." He obeyed. "Though he and Lady Tsunade did most of the talking. At first he wanted the surgery reversed, and he got really angry when the Hokage told him there wasn't a medic-nin in this village who'd agree to operate on two unwilling patients. Look up."

His gaze swung upwards, to the square white ceiling tiles. "And that's when he changed his focus to punishment?"

"Yes. Down."

He looked down, back at the yellow blanket. "Did he say how he's decided to deal with me and Hinata-sama?"

She clicked off the flashlight. "No," she replied. "But he's not likely to confide something like that to me, is he?" A vertical crease appeared between her eyes. "But Neji-san, the Hokage made it clear that you're too valuable to the village to lose."

That should give him a measure of protection – Hiashi was unlikely to defy the Hokage. But there were plenty of ways his uncle could hurt him, short of murder.

"Physically, the eye looks fine," said Sakura crisply. "Hinata was a very good match for you, probably because you're related. Now I want to use my chakra to examine the places where I connected it to your chakra network, blood vessels, and nerves. I don't think I missed anything, but I want to check."

At his nod she held up her hands, both glowing green. She reached out to bracket his face with her hands, just a centimeter from each of his temples, and after a second he felt a very slight tingling in his right eye and the bridge of his nose.

"I think Lord Hyuuga's still here, in the hospital," she told him. "I saw him entering Hinata's room a while ago. If you want, I'll stop him from coming here next."

Neji blinked. "And how do you plan to do that? He's not the kind to be dissuaded once he's made up his mind. Certainly he's not going to listen to a suspended _chuunin_."

The chakra running into his eye spiked painfully for a second. "He can't ignore me if I'm standing in his way," said Sakura fiercely. Then she closed her eyes to concentrate, and the chakra level lowered again.

"Don't be ridiculous, you're no match for him. There's no reason for you to take such a risk."

Her startlingly green eyes snapped back open and she lowered her hands. "Of course there is. You're my patient." Then she smiled. "And after that inspection, I can tell you that the transplant was flawless. I don't want someone messing up my work with a stupid curse mark."

"No," said Neji firmly. The situation with Hiashi was messy enough without drawing his comrades in. "This is between me and the Main House. I'll deal with it. You just avoid him."

Sakura folded her arms. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I would have to face Lord Hyuuga eventually anyway."

"Okay then. But what Hinata did, she did of her own free will, or I would never have operated. Don't let him forget that."

A new question occurred to him, and he asked it as she returned the flashlight to the drawer and took up another, less identifiable tool. "What is your motive in all this? Why would you agree to operate at all, when you didn't have permission?"

Her gaze flicked over to him, then back down to the shining metal implement in her hand. "Hinata asked me to," she said simply.

"And?" he pressed. As far as he knew, his cousin and this woman were not especially close.

"And obsessions like power, or a stronger and more secret _kekkei genkai_, have destroyed too many lives and families already. This time I could make a difference." Her focus seemed to extend outward, to a distant point only she could see. "And I once took something from Hinata, something she wanted her whole life and almost died for. I owe her."

There had been a time when Neji believed his Byakugan could show him everyone's true nature, the unchangeable essence at the core of their being, that determined their destiny. He had, of course, been violently proved wrong by Naruto Uzumaki. But one of the things this experience with blindness was teaching him was that his understanding of others, even those he'd grown up with, was even more imperfect than he already knew. This was especially true of his female comrades, the complicated and dangerous kunoichi of the Leaf.

***

Sakura's guess turned out to be right – Hiashi did indeed come to visit Neji that day. His strong precise footsteps echoed ominously down the corridor, growing louder by the second. Sakura had completed her tests and gone, and Neji thought briefly about hitting the call button at his bedside to bring her back. He squashed the unworthy impulse as soon as it arose; it was cowardly to hide behind a woman, and as he'd said, he would have to face his uncle eventually. Better now than later.

Fear clenched in his gut as Hiashi drew nearer. He always felt a certain tension around his uncle, despite the fact that their relationship had improved markedly after his first _chuunin_ exam and grown almost close during his training with the _chousen_. He could never forget that this man had the power to kill him. But now it was worse than ever, because this time he was guilty of a kind of betrayal. Despite Hiashi's help and attention, Neji had still acted in defiance of his authority, and few would deny that he deserved whatever punishment was coming to him.

And then Hiashi was in the doorway, like a full-length portrait in a rectangular frame. His arms hung at his sides and he was staring silently at Neji through hard, narrowed eyes.

The moment stretched so long Neji began to wonder if he should say something, give a greeting or an apology. But a greeting seemed flippant, a verbal apology inadequate. What did you say to a person after you had taken one of his daughter's eyes?

It was Lord Hyuuga who broke the silence. "I didn't believe it," he said coldly, not moving a muscle apart from his jaw. To others he might have sounded eerily calm, but Neji had heard that same frosty bite in his own voice precisely when his anger was most intense. "Didn't believe it, when I was told that my genius nephew, after accepting my hospitality and trust, had gone behind my back to take one of my own daughter's eyes." Hiashi paused and Neji continued to meet his gaze steadily. "But it's true," his uncle spat. "I've just seen the effects for myself – my eldest daughter, a one-eyed _chuunin_ who can't reach out to pick up a glass of water. And _you_" – the word was saturated with venom—"looking at me through one half of her _kekkei_ _genkai_."

"I have heard," said Neji quietly, "about Hinata-sama's difficulty with depth perception. I will no doubt suffer from it too. It will be overcome through training."

In one explosive movement Hiashi entered the room and came closer to the bed, halting less than a meter away. It pleased Neji that he was able to keep from flinching. Like all his family Lord Hyuuga had pale, nearly invisible pupils, but through long experience Neji could tell his uncle was looking directly into his right eye.

"No amount of training will put that back where it belongs," he said. "And the Hokage has refused to have it done without consent. So what should I do now?" His voice got softer, more dangerous. "What would you do in my place, Neji?"

"I don't know."

"The elders of our clan are of two minds. Some say I should kill you for disobedience. Others say this was the best of all possible outcomes, since Hinata is too weak to make proper use of her gift anyway. Which group do you think is right?"

Nothing he could say could be worse than what he'd already done. If he was to be cursed anyway, then there was no reason not to speak his mind. It was an oddly freeing thought.

"Neither," Neji answered. "I haven't done anything worthy of an execution, and if those old men think Hinata-sama is weak then they're even more senile than I thought."

Hiashi's expression flickered. "Such bald criticism," he said. "You've always spoken of your elders with more respect."

"It was never respect, Lord Hyuuga. It was fear."

"And which do you feel for me?"

He considered the question. "Both, I suppose."

"And Hinata?"

"I do not fear Hinata-sama."

"Of course you don't. That's why you weren't afraid to trick her out of an eye, make her believe she could buy your loyalty with her sacrifice. You took advantage of her."

Neji felt his own anger flare dangerously. His eyes narrowed, and if he could have seen the right half of his face in a mirror he would have been stunned at how similar it looked to his uncle's at that moment. "You've underestimated her, as usual," he said icily, and Hiashi's eyebrows shot upward. "She wasn't tricked out of anything. _She _came to _me. _And she didn't do it to 'buy' me; I am not for sale. She gave me her eye out of kindness, and I gave her my loyalty because she deserves it, more than Hanabi-sama and more than you."

"Are you actually thinking that she has what it takes to lead this clan?"

"Would you have the strength and ruthlessness to give up a part of your power to someone else? Would Hanabi-sama? Would I? Where there was one functional shinobi before, now there are two, because Hinata-sama _did_."

"And where there was a gifted but aloof Branch member before," said Hiashi slowly, "now there is a young man fully invested in the future of his clan. Interesting."

Neji said nothing, his mind racing. Had Lord Hyuuga's accusations been nothing but a test then, a way of drawing him out?

Lord Hyuuga continued, "If the elders had heard the way you just spoke to me, even the ones who defended you would advise punishment" --Neji squared his shoulders and clenched his jaw, determined not to shame himself by yelling too much through what was about to come -- "but I am unwilling to risk damaging Hinata's eye."

He couldn't believe what he seemed to be hearing; he needed confirmation. "Then, you are not going to activate my curse mark?"

Hiashi pressed his lips together in a thin line. "You certainly deserve it, for doing this without permission. If I thought you had tricked Hinata, or used her desire for my approval to get what you wanted, I wouldn't hesitate; for my own honor I can't allow my daughters to be manipulated like that. But you two have convinced me that that's not what happened. So yes, I will spare you this time. But Neji, as much as you might have resented the idea that your skill belonged to the Main House before, recognize that now it actually _does_."

Certain things had to be made clear, even at the risk of losing this unexpected amnesty. "Not the Main House," he corrected Lord Hyuuga. "Hinata-sama."

His uncle regarded him appraisingly, then nodded. "For now, that will do. There is no conflict."

"And later?"

"I haven't decided yet. It's a remarkable gift you've been given. See that you make the most of it." Then Lord Hyuuga turned to go, pausing in the doorway to speak over his shoulder. "You know Neji, I can think of at least one Hyuuga who was as courageous about sacrifice as Hinata -- your father." With that he stepped into the hall, and out of sight.

***

He hadn't seen his team's old training grounds since being blinded, though he had visited them many times in the intervening months. Time, or rather the intense training he'd engaged in, had wrought changes in the familiar landscape; the ground was now much cratered from so many uses of the _kaiten_.

He sat cross-legged on the ground with his back against a wooden post and took a deep steadying breath. He clearly remembered the sequence of hand signs, though he hadn't had cause to perform it in some time. He brought his hands together and made each sign in turn, careful to get every detail right.

When he was done he channeled chakra to his right eye and whispered "Byakugan." Even the forest seemed subdued, waiting.

And then it happened – the world changed. Everything became richer, more detailed, luminous. Neji held up his hand in front of his face and saw each bone, the rushing flow of blood, the lines of the chakra network like silken threads. His _tenketsu_ he couldn't quite make out, for Hinata had never managed to refine her vision to that degree. But Neji thought he could almost see them, just barely beneath his level of awareness, and that it was only a matter of time before they became visible to him again. He had, after all, already taught himself to see them once before.

Then he looked outward into the trees, intent on counting birds. It was an old hobby, a simple exercise he had not yet mastered, for there always seemed to be one that somehow escaped him. He wondered if he would have the same difficulty now.

To the north, within a radius of twenty-five meters, he saw one bird, a second, a third … in all he counted eight. Then, without turning his head, he looked to the west, to scour the treetops and bushes there.

A beating heart, a shining web of chakra, a pair of pearly white eyes; and then a bush twenty meters to the northwest exploded as someone leaped out of it and took off running back toward the village.

Birds forgotten, Neji watched the retreating spy until they were lost among the swarming crowds of central Konoha. There was no doubt about it, no mistaking that long dark hair, pale skin, and intense stare.

Clearly Hanabi had already marked him as an enemy.

**A/N: It should be clear that the direction of this story has shifted a bit, though in a natural way I hope. I considered ending it here with just a quick epilogue, then decided to try for more length in the interest of completeness. I do, of course, still have an ending in mind; it's just longer off than I initially thought. Special thanks to readers mafalda and GreatBigCranberries for their advice on this matter.**


	9. Machinations, Preemptive Strike

She came to escort him, a breach of etiquette given their respective positions.

"Hinata-sama," chided Neji as his cousin fell in to walk beside him, "if you want the elders to see you as a viable leader of this clan you must begin to act like one. The head of the Hyuuga family does not come to meet Branch members; she waits and they come to her."

Hinata looked down and colored slightly. From the way her hands balled up Neji could tell she was fighting the urge to fidget. "I, um, was in the area anyway."

Through his chakra-enhanced hearing Neji detected the quickening of her pulse. "You're lying," he diagnosed coolly.

"Y-yes …"

"You're not very good at it yet. You'll have to get better."

Her gaze lifted from the ground and her brow furrowed. "I don't think so," she answered firmly. "I don't think there will be any need."

Whether it was naivety or determination talking, Neji couldn't tell; his cousin confused him as always. Sometimes she was fierce, savvy, ruthless, while other times she acted like a timid child. Her personality was an odd mixture of contradictory ingredients, some of which would have to be suppressed if they were going to succeed.

Before he could voice these thoughts she turned to him and spoke again. "B-but you're right, nii-san, that I didn't come here by accident. I, um, wanted to talk to you before we start." It had been ten days since the transplant, and today they had arranged to train together at the Main House.

"About what?" It pleased Neji to note the restoration of his cousin's face. Evidently Hiashi had been unable to tolerate the sight of his daughter with an eye patch, and so Hinata now sported a false eye that looked identical to the original.

"Well, um, I heard that Tenten-san is being released today. When we made these plans I didn't realize they would interfere with the reunion of your team. If you want to cancel, I understand."

He shook his head. "That's not necessary. Tenten knows how important this is." He had plans to meet her later, but considered that information private.

"Oh, I see …"

"Is that really the only reason you came to meet me?"

She bit her lip. "N-no. I also wanted to warn you, nii-san, that there m-may be some people observing us today."

He came to an abrupt halt. "What do you mean?"

She also stopped. "Father scheduled a meeting with several of the elders right before our training session. I … do not think it is a coincidence."

"Of course it's not." So they would be on display, the effects of the surgery under evaluation. The pressure was no problem for him, but for Hinata … "Do you want to reschedule?"

Her chin tilted upward. "No. I will have to face them eventually, won't I? They have watched me my whole life, and they can hardly think less of me than they already do."

Her words were brave and undeniably true, so Neji chose to ignore the fact that she was trembling as she said them. He nodded once and resumed his progress down the street.

She followed, shooting him a sideways glance. "B-by the way, nii-san, did you get a new eye patch?"

"Yes," he said shortly.

"Oh. Well … I sort of liked the old one better."

The 'old one' had been a gift from Gai. It had also been bright green. "I lost it," Neji lied, then, to change the subject, asked, "Have you done any more practicing with your Byakugan?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"M-my range is at least as good as it was before, and I think that with time it will become even greater. But I am … having trouble seeing very small objects. With just one eye, it seems that my resolution is poor."

"And your depth perception?"

"It is better than it was. I don't have problems picking up objects anymore, but I am worried that in combat I may still misjudge distances."

"That is possible. If so, the best solution is to practice until accurately gauging distances becomes second nature."

"What about you, nii-san?"

He was silent a moment, looking ahead into central Konoha, whose beauty he had only recently come to appreciate. They were almost at the Main House. Finally in a quiet voice he said, "For the first time in months I am myself again. Thank you, Hinata-sama."

She blushed furiously just as they came in sight of the mansion, and he cursed himself for embarrassing her when she most needed to appear cool and confident. Hoping to get a preview of who might by lying in wait for them, he made a quick series of hand signs and murmured, "Byakugan!"

The novelty had worn off a bit since the surgery, but Neji still felt a small thrill at the activation of his jutsu, the ease with which he could look beneath the surface of the world. The Main House was just as he remembered, large and square with a gnarled cherry tree in the central courtyard, though now the tree's trunk showed signs of a small, recently closed hole. In a large room Hiashi sat at a low table drinking tea with several older men. Neji recognized them; the one on his uncle's right was Hisao, and across from him sat Hideaki. They were men of the Main House, long since retired from action. Diagonal from Hiashi, stiff and uneasy, was Jun; alone among those assembled he wore a forehead-protector over his brow to cover his curse mark. Though of the same generation as the others he had the lowest rank, a fact he was plainly aware of.

"Do you see them? Are they there?"

"Yes. Three of them – two Main House and one Branch House. And …" Neji trailed off, shifting his focus to the northwest corner of the building.

"Yes?"

His mouth tightened. "Hanabi-sama is present as well."

"That's unusual. Normally she'd be out training with her team."

Neji deactivated his Byakugan but continued to stare at the house pensively. "It's no accident she's here. She's been following me." Since that first sighting in the woods his youngest cousin had continued to appear unexpectedly, always in the background, always wearing the same burning expression. He'd tried to approach her a few times, to sound her out, but each time she'd retreated without giving him the chance.

Hinata frowned. "Following you? Well … this is her house too. She has every right to be here." She took her hands out of her pockets and squared her shoulders. "All we can do now, nii-san, is our best. Shall we go in?"

"Of course." He reached out and opened the sliding door for her, standing aside so that she might precede him. Within the mansion it was cool and shadowy, lit only by sunlight filtered through paper screens. Hinata had already removed her shoes and stepped up onto the grass-mat floor by the time Neji entered, and as he hastened to do the same he heard more doors opening and footsteps padding toward them down the hall.

Hinata beckoned and he followed her down the main corridor in the direction of the courtyard. They had not covered a third of the distance before a party of four men stepped into their path out of an adjoining passageway – Hiashi at the fore, closely flanked by Hisao and Hideaki, and Jun at the rear. Neji froze and bowed deeply to them, and was repaid with brief nods of acknowledgment. Hinata also bowed, though more shallowly, and had her gesture returned by the elders. Hiashi naturally remained upright.

Hinata folded her hands neatly in front of her and kept her eyes downcast. "Father, I have brought Neji-nii san here to train, as I told you I would."

"Yes, I see that." Neji felt his uncle's attention shift to him. "And how are you feeling, Neji? Are you completely recovered now?"

Neji met Lord Hyuuga's eyes just long enough to take in his inscrutable expression, then looked away. "Yes, thank you Lord Hyuuga. The medics have cleared me to train again."

"And how is the eye working?" demanded one of the Main House elders, Hisao. "Can you use the Byakugan?"

"Yes, I was able to use it on the first day after the transplant, and in time I think I will find it even better than my own."

Hideaki snorted. "I find that difficult to believe, considering its original owner couldn't equal your skill."

Unable to voice open disagreement, the best Neji could do was a noncommittal "We'll see … " But the dig at Hinata had not escaped Hiashi's notice – a faint line appeared across his forehead and his lips thinned.

Hinata colored slightly and said, "If you will excuse us, Father, we should, um, begin training now."

"By all means. Try not to slow your cousin down too much." With that Hiashi moved sideways to allow them to pass, and his three companions followed suit. Drawing even with Jun Neji heard the older man take in a sharp breath, and glanced over to meet a glare that burned with corrosive hatred. It lasted only an instant, just long enough to convey the Branch elder's feelings – Jun was obviously no ally.

Neji pondered what he knew of the man as they continued to the courtyard. Since they were from the same house he was more familiar with him than with either Hisao or Hideaki. The death of Neji's father had left Jun as the most distinguished of all Branch members, and it was through him that Hiashi communicated with the rest of the Branch family. As the clan head's spokesman Jun had considerable authority, and it was possible he saw Neji's association with Hinata as a threat, an attempt to attain greater influence and eventually usurp him.

It was all so messy and tangled, so different from the simplicity of the battlefield. And could someone like Hinata really survive in this nest of vipers?

As if she could hear his doubts Hinata said softly, "Don't waste your time worrying about them, nii-san. In the end it's my father we have to convince, and I have tradition on my side. It is always the oldest child who inherits, so if I can demonstrate that I'm strong enough to lead, the elders will be inclined to accept me."

"But you will need their support once you become the clan head, especially if you wish to make changes."

"Y-yes. But I think we should worry about that later. For now … for now we must train."

It was true; the support of the elders was moot until Hinata became the official heir, and anyway they had finally reached the courtyard. Their shoes, removed at the front door, were awaiting them on the walkway, whisked there by silent and all but invisible servants.

Neji and Hinata stepped into their sandals and down onto the ground, and in that instant one of the broad panels forming the mansion's interior walls slid aside to reveal the seated forms of Hiashi and the three elders. Apparently their trip through the halls had actually been nothing more than a move to a different room, one that adjoined the courtyard and afforded a better view.

"Pay no attention to us, Neji," called Hiashi. "Just conduct your training as usual."

"Right," he answered, thinking that it was no wonder Hinata hadn't reached her full potential in this environment.

"It's fine," she assured him, moving off a few meters. She seemed steadfastly determined to concentrate on the task at hand, regardless of their audience.

Well, if she could ignore them, so could he. "Activate your Byakugan," he told her, before making the hand signs to do so himself. Then he was looking not at her face but at her chakra network, at the shining blue web that ran throughout her body from head to foot and fingertip to fingertip, interrupted by an assortment of tiny nodes. His mouth curved into a small smile.

"Nii-san? What is it? What is … amusing to you?"

"Amusing? Nothing, Hinata-sama. But I can see your _tenketsu_."

She gasped, and at least one of the men watching them did too. "My _tenketsu_? B-but, nii-san, that should be impossible – my eyes are not that sensitive!"

He raised his voice so that everyone could hear. "Whoever told you that was wrong. I know, because using your eye I am able to see the same amount of detail as with my own. For the first few days after the surgery the _tenketsu_ were invisible, but then they suddenly appeared to me again. I think now that my initial inability to see them was due only to the fact that I was out of practice, nothing more."

"Th-then you're saying … you're saying …"

"That your eyes have the ability to see _tenketsu_, and all that remains is for you to learn to use it."

There was a moment of silence during which Neji's statement reverberated in the air. Through the Byakugan Neji could observe his uncle without turning his head, and he saw that the three elders appeared thunderstruck, and Lord Hyuuga's eyebrows had migrated upward.

"Hinata-sama," he called when he thought it had stretched on long enough, "attack me."

She was still gaping in shock, but at his words she closed her mouth and settled into the Gentle Fist stance. Her face darkened into an expression of fierceness he remembered well. "Right – here I come!" she cried, and charged.

He let her get close, though he could easily have prevented her approach with the _kaiten_ or the _hakke kusho_. That, however, wouldn't have done either of them any good. With her hands flat she tried very hard to hit him, and he intercepted each blow. It was much like the sparring they had done together as _genin,_ except that now they were both considerably faster. Neji was impressed at his cousin's speed; there were times when he couldn't react quickly enough to parry her attacks cleanly and had to settle for pushing her away or lunging to the side. But then he saw an opening, an instant when her center was unprotected, and took advantage of it to slam his hand into her sternum and send her stumbling backward.

She was panting but unhurt; he had modulated his attack to be blunt and harmless, a hard shove only. To his surprise he found that he was also panting. "Your concerns about depth perception in hand-to-hand combat were unfounded," he said, catching his breath. "To me it seems you're judging distances perfectly."

"Thank you, nii-san. That means a lot, coming from you." Then she came at him again, her long black hair streaming out behind her like a banner.

Again and again he knocked her back, though it cost him a blow to the arm and another to the chest. There was a time when she wouldn't have been able to touch him at all, and he didn't think the change was a result of him getting worse. Her stamina was also incredible – her willingness to attack did not fade even after an hour's hard sparring.

Finally Neji held up his hands and said "That's enough!" He was breathing heavily and his heart was pounding, while Hinata's face was shiny with sweat.

Her brows knit. "We do not have to stop on my account, nii-san. I can continue a while longer." Off to the side, still watching with the others, Hisao shook his head in disbelief.

"Yes, I can see that. But I think that's enough basic _taijutsu_ for now; it's clear having one eye has not impaired either of us in that respect. What I'm curious about is your _shugohakke_ technique." It was Hinata's special jutsu, after all, and would make for a potent demonstration.

She dropped her fighting stance. "S-so you think I should try it, then?"

"Yes."

"Okay …" She closed her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her. A few seconds later her stance changed, as did the flow of chakra in her body. Chakra moved to her arms and especially her hands, building up like water behind a dam. Then Hinata's eyes flew open and she began to move, keeping her feet planted as she thrust her open palms forward, to the rear, overhead, and to the sides, in a complicated pattern resembling a dance. Whenever one of her arms extended fully in the chosen direction a blade of chakra emitted from her palm, short but sharp enough to pierce an imaginary target. The jutsu called for sixty-four strikes and she completed them in less than a minute, her arms moving so fast they were merely a blur.

And then it was over and Hinata was still, her arms outstretched and her whole being radiating intensity. "It seems," she breathed at last, "that I can still do it."

"But what good is it," called a high voice from the walkway, "if you can't win in an actual fight?"

Hanabi stood ramrod-straight in front of the same doorway Neji and Hinata had passed through, arms folded and eyes narrowed to slits. Her long dark hair hung loose about her face, framing it in shining curtains that set off her pale skin.

"Hanabi!" exclaimed Hinata, lowering her hands. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to see you're recovered, nee-san. But it seems to me that our cousin is unwilling to really push you, perhaps out of gratitude. If you want to test your skill, why not fight me instead?"

Judging by the malice on her face that was not a good idea. "Hanabi-sama—" Neji began, but by then the girl had already jumped down from the walkway and moved to stand opposite Hinata.

She didn't even look at him when she said curtly, "Step back, nii-san. This is between us now."

He wanted to shove at her, get her away from Hinata while her intentions were so obviously harmful, but didn't dare to take such an action. His gaze found Hinata's and he silently tried to communicate both his helplessness and his sense of foreboding.

She gave him a tiny nod, the barest inclination of her head. "It's all right, nii-san. In fact it's very generous of Hanabi to help me practice. Please stand aside."

Having no other choice, he withdrew to sit on the walkway. From here he could hit Hanabi with a _hakke kusho_ if necessary. She activated her Byakugan and took her stance, while Hinata waited apprehensively.

Even to a cursory examination Hanabi's power was obvious – her chakra network shone with the sort of intensity and refinement normally present only in _jounin_. At fourteen she was still a _chuunin_, although by general consensus that would not be the case for long. Neji had never fought her, never even sparred with her, but he'd heard that she was proficient in all of the Main House's signature jutsu – the Gentle Fist, the _kaiten_, the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

"Defend yourself!" said Hanabi, launching herself at her older sister. What followed was a repeat of the previous hour's sparring, except that now Hinata was much lower on chakra and stamina. There was no denying Hanabi's speed, nor the fact that, unlike Neji, she was not bothering to blunt her attacks. One solid hit would do Hinata serious injury.

But, incredibly, Hinata seemed to be keeping up with her younger sister. A few times she even came close to scoring a hit of her own. In terms of skill with the Gentle Fist, Hanabi and Hinata appeared to be evenly matched.

"She's holding her own," observed a gravelly voice, and with a start Neji realized that Hisao had exited the sitting room and moved along the walkway to stand beside him. The old mad had his own Byakugan engaged and was regarding the combatants with an air of detached interest.

"Which one do you mean, sir?"

He raised an eyebrow, streaked with white like his hair. "Hinata-sama, of course. Hanabi-sama has always been strong, so there's no surprise there."

"Hn," said Neji, not sure what else to say. _What_ did this cold old man want from him? They were distant relatives, of course, though neither one of them could have explained exactly how. Hisao would be descended from a female child of a past clan head, for that was how Hyuuga were sorted into Main and Branch families – daughters of the head of the family and their children remained in the Main House regardless of birth order, while all sons but the first were cursed and banished to the Branch House. But the point where Hisao's lineage diverged from Neji's could be generations in the past, and no member of the clan bothered to keep track of the family's tangled genealogy. The only distinction that mattered was right out in the open for everyone to see, on the Branch members' foreheads.

"That younger one, she's like her father, as dark and sharp as obsidian. It is not surprising he found her easier to train. But the older one takes after her mother. Did you ever meet the Lady Hyuuga?"

"Once or twice. I don't remember it very clearly." Hiashi's wife, the Lady Hyuuga, had died shortly after Hanabi's birth, while Neji was still a small child.

"I suppose you wouldn't. She was unusual for a Hyuuga." Hisao sighed, his eyes still fixed on the sparring sisters. "Strength is necessary, of course. But when the Lady Hyuuga died I felt this clan lost something equally important."

Seeing an opportunity, Neji said carefully, "It may not be entirely gone, you know."

Hisao looked down at him. "Perhaps not," he agreed.

In the next second Neji's attention was jerked away from the elder and back into the courtyard, where Hanabi had just given a shriek and flown backward several meters. It seemed that Hinata had used the _shugohakke_ again.

"That jutsu," murmured Hisao, "is also unusual for a Hyuuga …"

Now Hanabi was climbing to her feet, shaking and clutching at her right shoulder. The chakra network there was in chaos, having been disrupted by one of Hinata's blades. Such a wound would be excruciating, and ought to deprive the recipient of the use of her limb.

But somehow, grimacing, Hanabi was forcing herself to lift both hands and simultaneously build up chakra in her forearms. Her injury prevented this from happening as quickly and efficiently as it should have, so that for a moment Neji wasn't sure what she was up to. Then suddenly he understood – it was the _hakke kusho_.

"Hinata-sama!" he called urgently. "She's –"

"_Hakke kusho!_" Hanabi shouted, releasing an enormous blast of chakra from both palms. They were still at close range; Hinata had no opportunity to dodge. She took the full force of the blast and was lifted off her feet, hurtling backwards until she struck the edge of the walkway and slumped to the ground.

It was over, Hanabi had clearly won, yet she didn't seem cognizant of that fact. Her stance changed, became hunched over with one arm extended downward and the other held up behind her head. Neji would have known that position anywhere.

"Eight trigrams," hissed Hanabi, "sixty-four palms!"

Hinata was hurt and depleted of chakra, still recovering from major surgery, and if her flow of chakra was cut off now it could be fatal. Neji was on his feet, lunging forward, before he had consciously decided to act.

"_Hakke kusho!_" This blast, more powerful than Hanabi's by an order of magnitude, came from across the courtyard, and was expertly calibrated to shoot between the sisters and push them apart. Hanabi was in the midst of her jutsu, unprepared to stop, and hence was thrown off balance and had to stagger backward a few paces before regaining her footing. By that time Neji had arrived to crouch over the prone form of Hinata, interposing his body between the combatants.

Hiashi lowered his hand. The only sign that he had done anything was the way the veins around his eyes bulged slightly. "Hanabi," he said sternly, "that is enough."

Chest heaving, Hanabi seemed inclined to argue, but quailed under her father's merciless gaze. Even she, his favorite, knew better than to defy him.

"How is she, Neji?" asked Hiashi.

Neji reached down and helped Hinata to sit up, slowly. He could see blood rushing to her back where she had slammed against the walkway, and the utter disarray of her chakra network. Thankfully Hiashi had stopped Hanabi before she could cut off the flow completely. "I think … she is all right, Lord Hyuuga."

Hinata coughed and drew in a shuddering breath. "Y-yes, Father … I will be fine … if Neji-nii san will help me stand …"

Neji took her arm and gently pulled her upward, supporting her to the walkway. "It is impressive that you are still able to move after that," he told her. "And with so much of your chakra already used up."

She smiled wanly. "Thank you, nii-san."

"It would be impressive if I'd been able to finish," said Hanabi acidly. "There's nothing special about being saved by someone else."

Neji turned his head to meet her gaze over his shoulder. She was giving off waves of loathing, both hands balled into fists. "Having been hit with the jutsu yourself, Hanabi-sama, you should know how painful it is, even if incomplete."

She took a step forward. "Why don't you show me?"

"You want to fight _me_?"

"Yes. Everyone always says you're a great genius, and I want to see for myself. I hope that what you used against Hinata-nee san wasn't the full extent of your power."

He wanted to fight her, he really did. She reminded him of himself before that first _chuunin_ exam, arrogant and angry, and a thorough beating was the fastest way to crush such an attitude. But she was six years younger than him and a member of the Main House, and he was leery of engaging her in this setting. "There is no reason for us to fight," he said reluctantly. "I've already sparred today and have plans to train more later, and you don't seem to need the practice."

"You're afraid," she mocked him. "You don't want to fight me in front of my father. Don't worry, he won't interfere."

"It _would_ be interesting," Hideaki opined, while Jun made noises of agreement.

Hiashi was looking hard at his youngest daughter. "Neji," he said, "if you want to accept her challenge, feel free to do so. It will make a good lesson for her."

Hinata seized his arm. "Nii-san, there is no need for this. You don't have to take this risk."

He gently shook her off. "The risk is minimal, Hinata-sama. It will be over quickly." Then he spun around to face Hanabi, and said, "Let's begin."

She nodded once and began channeling chakra to her arms, evidently planning another _hakke kusho_. He smiled wryly. "Your _hakke kusho_ is still immature, Hanabi-sama, and in any case it won't work on me." Then he activated the _hakke chousen_, numerous lines of chakra extending outward from his body in all directions. Now in addition to his sight he could _feel_ his surroundings, the whole breadth of the courtyard and the tense form of his opponent.

Hanabi's white pupils darted from side to side, taking in the blue lines all around her. In shock she had ceased her preparations for the _kusho._ "This is … this is …"

"The _hakke chousen_, the jutsu your sister invented. I haven't forgotten it just because I regained my vision. But it's more than a sensory tool – it is also a weapon."

He increased the intensity of two of the rays, out of hundreds. Their blue color darkened slightly, but the lines' sheer numbers prevented Hanabi from noticing. The lines shifted, changing focus, tightening in around her. If she had jumped or ducked at that moment she would have been saved, but she didn't, and thus when the two rays whose intensity was now sufficient for cutting moved in on either side of her face she was trapped. They swept in just below her jaw line to cut cleanly through her long hair, the severed locks falling softly to the ground. Her eyes followed them down, then moved back up to one of the rays now poised millimeters from her neck.

"Don't move," said Neji. "You've just seen what these rays can do; if you brush either of them you'll be cut." Behind him he heard the elders muttering to each other; he didn't bother listening for the words, but thought their tone sounded impressed.

Hanabi's gaze was fixed on him, her rage obvious. Her chakra was fluctuating wildly, as if in compensation for her enforced immobility.

"If this were a real battle, you would be dead now," Neji pointed out. "By shifting the ray on your right I could cut your carotid artery, and you would bleed out in minutes. You are beaten. Surrender."

She swallowed and her nostrils flared as she tried frantically to think of some solution. But there was nothing, no way to escape the trap.

"Surrender," Neji said again.

"Fine," she spat. "You win."

Neji deactivated the _chousen_, letting all the rays wink out of existence at once. He was pleased with the control the Byakugan gave him over his newest jutsu; if he'd had it during his last mission Tenten would never have been injured.

"He's still too much for you, Hanabi-sama," observed Hisao dryly. "Maybe next time."

"Right," she said, shaking with anger. "Next time." In one fluid movement she spun and leaped onto the walkway, then vanished back through the open doorway.

Neji waited a moment before deactivating his Byakugan. He was spent; the hard sparring with Hinata, coupled with the continuous use of the Byakugan and the activation of the _chousen_, had worn him out. "I think that's enough for now, Hinata-sama," he said.

She nodded tiredly. "Yes, I agree. Will you come again tomorrow?"

He glanced at her. "Are you sure that's a good idea? You took a beating; perhaps you should rest."

She shook her head vehemently. "No, I have already rested enough. And … I'll never learn to see _tenketsu_ by neglecting my training." She smiled then, in spite of the pain and her defeat. "I won't allow you to forget that you said I could see them, nii-san. I will work hard to make it true."

"Then I'm certain you'll succeed." He meant it; he was more sure than he had any right to be. "I will come again tomorrow, at this same time."

Her smile widened and she thanked him, and Neji bowed to his uncle and the elders and took his leave. He would have liked to speak to Hinata in private about Hanabi and the others, but she needed medical attention and was in no shape to accompany him to the door. So, carrying his shoes, he made his way back to the entrance alone, though he went slower than he might have and focused chakra in his ears, to eavesdrop. Once outside on the street, he found that he could still pick up conversations within the house.

From the courtyard there was the sound of a party of servants carrying Hinata away, to another room where Hiashi likely had a medic on call. But the elders remained where they were, talking together in low voices.

"—far inferior to her sister, despite their difference in age," said Hideaki's voice. "Do we really want to entrust our future to a _chuunin_ who can be beaten by a child?"

"Hinata-sama is constantly improving, and she possesses no arrogance," replied Hisao. "Can you say the same for Hanabi-sama? She is rash and aggressive, and as we saw today, apt to run headlong into disaster."

"There's also Neji to consider," said Hiashi. "He's made his preference clear, and it would be advantageous to the clan head to have the support of the Hyuuga's greatest fighter."

"If you'll excuse me, Lord Hyuuga," said Jun in a soft, oily voice, "Neji's preference hardly matters. He is of my house and bound to serve whomever you choose. I believe he is trying to curry favor with the Main House to gain influence, and that he chose Hinata-sama because he knew she would be easier to manipulate."

Cloth rustled; Jun's words had caused some of the others to shift in their seats. "Are you suggesting," asked Hiashi dangerously, "that my daughter is so easily deceived?"

"Of course not, Hyuuga-sama. But Neji is unquestionably a genius. Who can say what trick he might have played on her?"

"I am satisfied that is not the case," said Hiashi with finality. "He has ample reason to be genuinely loyal to Hinata, not least the eye she gave him. And then there's that jutsu, the _hakke chousen_. She invented it especially for him, out of her own arsenal. It would be enough to win anyone over."

"Yes, that jutsu …" said Hisao slowly. "What else can it do? Can he hit _tenketsu_ with it?"

"I don't know," said Hiashi. "Probably not yet. But given the rate at which he advances, it may be only a matter of time before he combines the _chousen_ with our _tenketsu_ attacks. Do you all realize what that would mean? Our jutsu has always been limited to short range, but this would extend it significantly. The ability to cut off an enemy's chakra from a distance, before he even sees you, is something this village has never seen before."

"And if he attains it," said Hisao, "then at least part of the credit will go to Hinata-sama. She'll have been responsible for handing this village an important new weapon and enhancing the status of the clan."

"_If,_" Hideaki echoed. "It hasn't happened yet."

"We'll see," said Hiashi thoughtfully, "we'll see."

***

_Thwack!_ The sound echoed through the late afternoon, sharp and decidedly unnatural. Neji smiled; it seemed Tenten had arrived ahead of him and was using the time for target practice.

Coming through the trees he finally caught sight of her, standing with her back to him in a clearing. Sunlight glinted off an assortment of weapons scattered over the ground and lodged in the trees, and as he watched she lifted up two _kunai_, one in each hand, and let the left one fly. In the next instant her right hand twitched, launching the second _kunai_ through the air to intercept the first. With a metallic _clang_ the weapons met and deflected, altering their courses to strike a pair of targets pinned to two separate trees.

As soon as she saw that she'd made contact Tenten ran forward a few steps and leaped up, using chakra to enhance the jump so that she soared high into the air. On her way back down she did a series of flips and twists, an acrobatic exercise that was not merely for show. At key points in this routine she released _shuriken_, sending them whirring in every direction like bits of molten metal.

Neji continued watching, admiring her gracefulness, until he realized that a _shuriken_ he'd thought was launched at a sapling five meters away was actually headed directly for him. Just in time he threw himself onto the ground, hearing the deadly little star pass over his head and slash off into the underbrush.

"Damn," said Tenten dryly. "Now I've lost one."

He clambered to his feet, brushing dirt and leaves from his robes. "Would you have preferred it if I'd stopped it with my face?"

She shrugged. "You could've caught it, you know. I've seen you do that before."

"I wasn't prepared. I didn't realize you'd noticed me."

"Well, you may be aware that I'm a ninja. They might be nothing compared to yours, but my senses are still pretty good. And it's creepy to be watched in the woods like that."

"Hn." Now that he thought about it, sneaking up on a fellow ninja was probably not a clever idea – lately he seemed to be doing a lot of stupid things in Tenten's presence.

"How'd it go?" she asked him, turning away to begin collecting her numerous scattered weapons.

He moved into the clearing to help her. "It went well, I think. I was able to get a sense of where some of the elders stand, and I believe at least one of them is on our side. I also learned of something I might do to win the others over."

She yanked a _kunai_ out of an oak and dropped it into her pack. "Something you might do?"

"A jutsu they covet, that they think I can perfect."

"And can you?"

He looked down at a _shuriken_ before handing it off to her and bending down to retrieve another. "I think so. In theory it shouldn't be too hard, just a matter of combining two techniques I already know – the _chousen_ and the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms."

"If you can do that, will it help Hinata?"

"Definitely."

Tenten clapped her hands together loudly. "Then let's start!"

He straightened up and looked at her, smiling happily, clad in full battle gear. "Start?"

"Working on that technique, of course! It'll be just like before the _chuunin_ exams – you'll need someone to practice on, and I volunteer."

Since the early days in the hospital her color had improved, and to a stranger she might look totally fit. But Neji could see the very faint circles under her eyes, and the way her lips were a shade lighter than normal. "Tenten," he said clearly, "I am never going to use the _chousen_ on you again."

"Don't be stupid, Neji. What happened was an accident and you've already apologized" – actually he'd prostrated himself on the floor in front of her – "and I know how important this is to you. That makes it important to me too."

"No," he said flatly. "Never again."

"Who _else_ would you work with? Lee?"

His silence spoke volumes.

"_Lee_? You're actually going to spend hours on end with him, voluntarily? Because you know Gai's bound to be there too."

He winced. "Sometimes … sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. And that reminds me – did Lee and Gai come to meet you when you were released this morning, or did you escape from them?"

"Changing the subject. This isn't over, you know." Then she sighed. "I _almost_ got away from Lee and Gai – Lady Tsunade 'accidentally' gave them the wrong release time. But since Sakura pulled the same trick for you, they were ready for it and showed up at the hospital two hours early."

"So then, did they take you on some kind of tour?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh yes. Did you know that Gai's apartment is one of the most youthful sites in the village? Or that he keeps all his worn-out forehead-protectors in a display case, with a haiku dedicated to each?"

Somehow that was not remotely surprising. "But Sakura told me that you'd be in no condition to run with those two right after your release. How did you manage?"

For some reason she looked a bit embarrassed, and hesitated a moment before answering. "Well, in the end I didn't have to run much. When she saw them arrive early, Lady Tsunade explained the situation to Gai in, uh, _forceful_ terms. So he decided that I would only run halfway, and that for the rest of the way … Lee would carry me."

An image came to Neji's mind, of Tenten perched precariously on Lee's shoulders, trying desperately to hang on while the whole village watched. He couldn't stop himself from smirking.

"It is _not_ funny," she protested. "You of all people should know how embarrassing it is!" This was a low blow; Lee had once grabbed Neji and insisted on carrying him piggyback all the way to the village. Neji still considered it one of his worst memories. "Although," she continued, "it turned out to be a good thing, because it made the tour end early."

"Why?"

"Well, Lee kept going on about what excellent training it is to carry a teammate, and how he'd thought it might be less effective with a girl, but he was wrong. He said it was a good thing I weigh almost as much as you."

Neji tried and failed to suppress another smirk. Lee was not exactly stupid, but that was a truly ill-advised comment. "And that ended your tour early?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice normal.

"No," Tenten replied scathingly. "What ended the tour was when Lee fell on my _kunai_. Twice."

Neji had a feeling he'd better let the subject drop, unless he also wanted to "fall" on a _kunai_. But it was good to see Tenten back to her old fierceness; her brush with death and the sudden news of Neji's surgery had unbalanced her for a few days, left her more emotional than usual. He found her much better company when there was less of a chance she would cry and more of a chance she would stab him.

"What is it?" she asked, surprised at his abruptly solemn expression.

He looked away. "I am glad to see you acting like yourself again. I suppose until now I didn't really believe you'd recovered."

She stepped closer, kicking aside fallen branches. "I'm fine Neji, just fine. There was no permanent harm done, and you've even got your sight back. Everything's going to work out."

He looked up into her warm brown eyes, and then she reached out and put her arms around him. As fresh _genin_ they'd been the same height, but now she was shorter than him, so that her head rested against his shoulder. Once again he felt something hard and pointy jutting into his side – he'd have to talk to her about where she kept her _kunai_.

"Sweet," said someone derisively. Neji released Tenten and swiftly located the source of the sound – a slim figure standing in the shadow of a nearby tree.

Tenten had already armed herself and was preparing to throw, when Neji put out a hand to stop her. "Don't," he said. "That's my cousin."

Tenten's eyes widened. "You mean, the younger one? Hanabi?"

He nodded, then called out, "So you've decided to talk this time, Hanabi-sama. Is that because you know now that you can't beat me?"

The girl scowled and moved closer, into the sunlight of the clearing. Her hair was uneven and she was rather bruised; evidently she had not bothered to clean up before setting out to trail him.

"What happened to you?" asked Tenten with concern.

Hanabi shot her an angry glare. "That's none of your business. I came here to talk to Neji-nii san. Go away."

"Tenten is not going anywhere," said Neji coolly. "If you want to talk to me, you'll have to accept that. What is it that you want?"

Hanabi was silent as she weighed her desire to speak to Neji against her aversion to Tenten's presence. "_Why_?" she asked finally. "Why do you prefer Hinata to me?"

Neji raised an eyebrow; that was not what he'd been expecting. "I barely know you, Hanabi-sama, so it would be wrong to say I prefer your sister to you. I simply think Hinata-sama would make a fine clan head."

"And I wouldn't?"

He paused, wondering how direct he should be. "If your father died and you were made the clan head tomorrow," he said slowly, "what would you do?"

"Give him a funeral, of course."

"And after that?"

"I would maintain the clan's influence and uphold its traditions." The words had the ring of something memorized, like a slogan.

"_All_ its traditions?"

Her eyebrows knit together. "You're asking about the curse mark, if I'd use it."

"Yes."

Her jaw clenched and she said, "I would. It protects our _kekkei genkai_, our clan's greatest treasure."

He nodded. "Then you have your answer, Hanabi-sama. Your sister would never curse anyone, and she doesn't think a clan's jutsu is its most important possession."

She waved a hand dismissively. "That's sentimental nonsense. Only strength matters. Hinata would make this clan weak and soft, and you would help her do it because of your" – she looked swiftly at Tenten – "personal feelings. That's treason."

"You are very young," Neji answered simply. "Young people of our clan often think that way – I certainly used to. But, you know, Hinata-sama never did."

It was the wrong thing to say; being patronized and then unfavorably compared to her sister seemed to drive Hanabi into a rage. All the blood drained from her face and the veins on her forehead and around her eyes stood out. A few more seconds, and her Byakugan would activate on its own.

"I'm too young, am I?" she hissed. "My thinking is childish? At least I don't abandon my comrades because of a setback!"

Neji was nonplussed. "What do you mean?"

"You gave up! You were going to resign because you made a mistake! And you were even ready to abandon _her_!" Hanabi pointed a shaking finger at Tenten.

"Neji," asked Tenten in confusion, "what does she mean?"

"She doesn't _know_? You never _told_ her?" Seeing an opportunity to strike, Hanabi's mouth twisted into an unpleasant smile as she addressed the other kunoichi. "Well _I_ know, I was following Hinata the night she offered him the eye, because I could tell she was up to something. And I heard them talking, and he said he wouldn't see you, that your relationship was pathetic and he didn't want to be a part of it. You'd better be grateful to Hinata, because without her he would have thrown you away."

Tenten threw the _kunai_ she was holding a split second after Hanabi turned to run. Through her Byakugan Hanabi saw the approaching projectile and ducked just in time. In the next instant she was gone, out of range.

Tenten stood staring at the place where Hanabi had been, her heart pounding. "Was that true?' she asked Neji tightly. "Was what she said true?"

He wanted to lie but couldn't, not to her, not about something so important. "In the essentials, yes," he replied. "It was never about throwing you away, Tenten. I just couldn't stand to be with someone so far above me."

She didn't look at him; her hands balled into fists and she shook her head slowly from side to side. "I can't believe it," she said hoarsely. "After all that's happened, Neji, you still can't bring yourself to depend on me."

And he had nothing to say to that, no words to call her back as she strode off into the forest, away from him.

**A/N: Apologies for the length. As any of my fellow writers knows, conversations with more than two or three participants get very long, very fast.**


	10. Throw Down the Gauntlet

Missions resumed in earnest. With his Byakugan and Gentle Fist restored, Neji was able to function as a full member of Team Gai once more. Lady Tsunade had promised to promote him to _chuunin _after the successful completion of five missions, and to _jounin_ after five more of rank B or above. To fulfill this quota he found himself working swiftly, grimly, wasting no time in rest or levity. Becoming a _jounin _again would enhance his status in the village and the clan, give him more opportunities to influence important decisions.

Tenten echoed his cold efficiency, reflected it back after coloring it with her own chill disappointment. She did not ignore him, nor turn her considerable fierceness on him as she had in the past; instead she was calm and logical, all business. Of course it was a front – Neji could see the way her chakra intensified in his presence, hear the quick pounding of her heart – but no ordinary person could have known the turmoil that lay beneath her composed features. She was a shinobi through and through, emotionless.

He did not think the attitude suited her.

He thought of apologizing. It would probably revive their short-lived relationship. They had only been together a little time, most of it occupied by her convalescence, but still long enough for him to know the difference she made in his life, like the gift of fire to a dark frozen land. He yearned for her; it was hard to go back to the cold. But an apology was out of the question because it could not be sincere. He wasn't sorry for his decision to leave her, and would make it again in the same situation. Given that, he wasn't sure if he should or could say anything to win her back. Bitter as the thought was, it was possible that they were never meant to be, that someone as cold and proud as him was simply not suited for romance.

The only relief from the joyless professionalism that had overtaken Team Gai came from Lee, who seemed to be trying to counteract the tension with his own natural exuberance. He chattered animatedly, he challenged them to footraces, he cheered loudly when they performed the smallest tasks. And he'd been only too happy to oblige when Neji asked for his help with training.

"I think it is working, Neji-kun! I am beginning to feel a tingling in my legs!" Lee sat cross-legged on the forest floor, his face lit with grayish light from the overcast sky.

A few meters away, Neji crouched in his meditation pose with his Byakugan engaged. He was focusing hard on his teammate's chakra network, on the tiny nodes that were clearly visible but still maddeningly out of reach.

"It's not working, you idiot," he replied crossly. "I wasn't even doing anything that time. Your legs are tingling because you've been sitting on them so long. Just change position." For the past two hours, and for countless hours more on previous days, Lee and Neji had come to this spot to sit opposite one another while Neji tried to reach out with the _chousen_ and hit his teammate's _tenketsu_. Success continued to elude him; the rays still took time to focus and were difficult to calibrate with the necessary precision. Slashing motions were easy, and he could hit a couple of chakra points if he held still and focused for two or three minutes, but for the jutsu to be viable in battle he would have to advance to the point where he could strike sixty-four _tenketsu_ in a matter of seconds, and he was nowhere close to that level of mastery yet. He was beginning to doubt that he would ever get there; never before had he had this kind of trouble with a Gentle Fist technique.

Lee leaned back and stretched his legs out in front of him. "Oh, you are right, Neji-kun! It seems my legs just fell asleep. But are you having any more success?"

"If I was you'd be the first to know, because you'd feel your energy suddenly drain away for no reason. Now please be quiet, Lee. I need to focus." Total concentration was needed for chakra manipulation of this difficulty, and it was hard on Lee to sit still and quiet for such long periods of time. He was a man of movement and action, singularly unsuited for training of this nature. But he never complained or asked to quit, a fact for which Neji was duly grateful. Lee drove him crazy, but his commitment and loyalty were undeniable.

Lee reached into his pack and withdrew something – a long red strip of cloth set with a rectangular metal ornament.

"What are you doing?" Neji asked, curious in spite of himself.

His teammate held the cloth up, letting it twist a bit in the air. As it rotated toward him Neji discerned the stylized image of a leaf etched into the metal. "This is an old forehead-protector," said Lee reverently. "It is worn out now."

On closer inspection it _did_ look beaten up – the cloth was torn and stained and there were a number of scratches, one of which ran horizontally through the leaf. "Yes, I see that," replied Neji. "If you wore that, you'd be mistaken for a missing-nin. But why do you still have it?"

Lee lowered his arm and laid the ruined forehead-protector carefully across his thigh. "It is a symbol of hard work and effort. To throw something like this away is unthinkable. I have decided to keep it, and write a haiku in its honor." He reached again into his pack, this time removing a small notepad and pencil.

"You got this idea from Gai, right?"

"Yes, of course! After he took me and Tenten-san to his apartment on his Tour of Youth, I became inspired! I could not wait until I had a worn-out forehead-protector of my own, so that I could mimic Gai-sensei's artistry!"

"Hn." It was crazy, but no more so than any of Lee's other antics. And at least it would keep him quiet. Neji focused again on Lee's _tenketsu_, located the pair with which he always began the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms. He activated the _chousen_, just two rays, and extended them slowly over the leafy ground. Soon enough they contacted Lee's body, creeping toward their targets in response to tiny hand movements. Neji judged that the rays' current intensity was just right, as Lee hadn't yet noticed anything – he was totally absorbed in his notepad, lips moving slightly…

"Lee, _what_ are you saying?"

Lee looked up in surprise. "Could you hear that, Neji-kun? I am sorry, I was trying very hard to be quiet. It is just that I cannot evaluate my poetry without hearing it read aloud."

"I couldn't hear the words, just a low mumbling. It's still distracting."

"I am sorry. But perhaps you can help me – your opinion would be most welcome." And before Neji could object, Lee cleared his throat and recited:

"_Forehead-protector,_

_You are now bloodied and scratched,_

_But still shine with youth."_

Neji's mouth had fallen open slightly. Finally, in the face of Lee's expectant gaze, he collected himself enough to say, "Lee, we're _ninja_. We don't write poetry."

"Gai-sensei does! And he is a splendid ninja!"

Neji somehow doubted that Gai was any better a poet than Lee. But criticism of their teacher would get him nowhere, so he decided on brutal honesty instead. "That's fine for him, Lee. But I'm no expert, and even I can tell your haiku wasn't very good."

Lee's brows knit, and for a moment he seemed on the verge of an angry retort. Then he said, "You are right, Neji-kun. That one is too literal, I think. But perhaps the one I wrote during lunch yesterday is – "

"How many of these did you write anyway?"

"Thirty-eight. Perhaps the one I wrote during lunch yesterday is more appropriate." Lee flipped rapidly through the notepad. "Yes, here it is!

_Used tools, like ninja_

_Have acquired in battle_

_Youth's bright green aura."_

Neji felt his eye twitch. With the Byakugan he could see through the back of Lee's pad, to the pages covered in poem after poem, dozens of youthful haiku that he would have to listen to …

"You did not seem to like that one either, Neji-kun! But what about _this_? _Not green in color – _"

… and it seemed green would be a recurring motif …

"_And yet youthful as nature—_"

…variations on a theme, like the years of training with Gai compressed into seventeen syllables …

"_Forehead-protector."_

At the last line Neji felt a great welling of intensity, a sudden spike of frustration. Almost of its own accord chakra migrated down his arms and out his palms in two slim rays, and then his hands moved swiftly through a complicated pattern while his chakra output fluctuated minutely. The rays of the _chousen_ danced over Lee's body, occasionally penetrating beneath the surface to graze the chakra network.

And then the moment was passed and Lee was frozen, slumped sideways and breathing heavily.

"Neji-kun!" he exclaimed. "You did it! You hit my _tenketsu_ from a distance!"

Neji lowered his hands, a little stunned. "Yes. But I only hit fourteen of them – that's why you can still shout."

"What changed? Why were you suddenly able to do it?"

He considered the question. "Apparently my frustration had to reach some critical level, and your poetry pushed me over the edge."

Lee beamed. "Then it was helpful to you! I will have to tell Gai-sensei that he is once again responsible for inspiring greatness in his students! He will be thrilled!"

Most people would have been upset to discover that their poetry was bad enough to double as a training tool, but then Lee was not like most people. "I've only done it once, Lee, and the jutsu still isn't complete. We should hold off on telling Gai until I can hit all sixty-four chakra points at will."

"Yes, I see. Of course!"

"How many of those poems did you say you had? Thirty-eight?"

He nodded.

"Then there are thirty-five to go. Read them all to me, and I will try to become irritated enough to hit all of your _tenketsu_."

Slower than usual because of Neji's attack, Lee grinned and gave a salute. "Sure thing, my rival! And do not worry – if we run out of haiku before we are done, I will simply write more! Anything to help a teammate!"

Neji winced, and steeled himself for what was coming. A certain amount of pain and suffering was inevitable during rigorous training, especially on Team Gai. But still, as Lee flipped eagerly through his notepad, Neji found himself hoping that no more than these thirty-eight poems would be required – his sanity could only take so much.

***

Neji made his way home after dropping Lee off at his apartment. His teammate was in bad shape, having had his _tenketsu_ pressed repeatedly over the course of the afternoon. By the thirty-third haiku Neji had improved to the point where he could strike sixty-four _tenketsu_ simultaneously at a distance of ten meters. He had, of course, used his Gentle Fist to restore Lee's chakra network to normal after each attack, but the constant fluctuations had taken a toll, leaving Lee too weak to continue any longer.

The technique was still incomplete; it was currently slow and difficult to activate. But after today Neji knew with absolute certainty that he could do it, and that refinement was only a matter of time. Very soon he would have a unique and powerful jutsu to present to the Hyuuga elders, a long-range _tenketsu_ attack not even the Main House could perform. It should boost both his standing and Hinata's, and with luck it might even be enough to guarantee her selection as the next clan head.

He knew arrogance was one of his weak points and he tried constantly to master it, but just now he couldn't keep from feeling pleased with himself.

"Hey, Neji!" The voice came from behind him, a little way up the street leading from Lee's home. Neji halted and turned, scanning the faces of pedestrians for the person who had called out to him.

Finally he spotted a familiar face, a comrade ambling his way. "Shikamaru," he acknowledged when the other man was close enough. "What do you want?"

Shikamaru Nara was a year younger than him, and the only one of his Academy class so far to attain the rank of _jounin_. Neji had had few dealings with him, but had always respected his keen strategic insight. Just now he was wearing his usual put-upon expression, with the air of a person in the midst of something tedious.

"I'm looking for Lee," said Shikamaru, coming to a stop a little distance away. His hands were thrust into his pockets and he was slouching, a deceptively low-key posture that often caused opponents to make the fatal error of underestimating him. "I just came from the Hokage's office. She's got a mission for him, and she apparently thought it would be funny to make me deliver it. I was going to bring it to his apartment, but then I saw you and thought you might be on your way to train with him."

Neji shook his head. "No, sorry. Lee's at home – we just concluded our training for the day."

Shikamaru looked upward, to where the earlier cloud cover was now breaking up to admit the occasional patch of sunlight. "Concluded your training? When the sun's still up? I thought Lee was way more intense than that."

"Ordinarily he is. But I just cut off his chakra flow several times in a few hours, so he's resting. In fact, if this mission from Lady Tsunade is for today, you'd be better off finding someone else. Lee's in no condition to do anything strenuous, though of course he'd tell you differently."

With a great sigh Shikamaru lowered his gaze from the sky. "Do you realize what this means? I'll have to go all the way backto her office to deliver the news, and then she'll probably send me out again to find Lee's replacement – what a pain. What do you want with all that training anyway? From what I understand your cousin's eye has given you back all of your skills. Isn't that enough for you?"

Neji wasn't surprised to find that Shikamaru knew the basics of his situation – his disability had become common knowledge and there was no hiding the new eye that now resided in his skull. As a _jounin_ and trusted advisor of the Hokage, Shikamaru may even have been privy to the reports on Neji's rehabilitation.

"A shinobi should always work to improve himself," he replied stiffly. "Your own specialty may not require honing apart from the occasional _shogi_ game, but that is not true of mine. I have needed Lee's help for the development of a new jutsu." He wasn't really sure what made him add that last part, except that he was still feeling the satisfaction of having made real progress at last.

Shikamaru shrugged. "New jutsus are a pain. It's easier just to be creative with the old ones. But I guess you and Hinata've got your uses for a flashy new technique."

That brought him up short. Professional details were one thing, family secrets another. What did Shikamaru know, and _how_? Neji decided to probe him.

"I have no idea what you mean."

Shikamaru merely looked bored. "Of course you do. And you're wondering how much information I have and where I got it. But you can relax – I only know what Lady Tsunade knows, and what's obvious to everyone. Like the fact that that _chousen_ thing of yours would be really scary if you combined it with other Gentle Fist moves, or the fact that a gift like Hinata's is likely to create a certain loyalty. Stuff like that. I don't really have the motivation to go around looking into other people's business."

If anyone was capable of taking scraps of available information and using them to piece together the truth about Neji and Hinata's campaign to change the Hyuuga, it was Shikamaru. You didn't need spies when you were as smart as he was.

Still, it really wasn't any of his concern. "Hn," said Neji flatly. "I still don't know what you're talking about. Shouldn't you be getting back to tell Lady Tsunade about Lee?"

"Probably. But I took my time getting here, so I'm already late. I'm in no hurry." Shikamaru's expression became uncharacteristically sharp. "You a _shogi_ player, Neji?"

"No." Was the younger man challenging him to a game? Surely he knew Neji would never waste his time on something like that.

"I'm not surprised. _Shogi_'s about subtlety, and your whole team favors the direct approach, right? Run in and use your strongest jutsu to knock your opponent out?"

That was a little over-simplified, but it was doubtful that Shikamaru actually cared about Team Gai's combat style. "What are you getting at?"

His eyes narrowed. "Nothing in particular. Directness works fine on the battlefield, but in other endeavors it's not always the best idea. For instance, did you know that in _shogi_ you get to use any pieces you capture as your own?"

"No." Neji managed to restrain himself from adding _So what?_

"Well, it's true. After you take the piece you can drop it back into the game by putting it on an empty square, and then it's part of your forces. When an inexperienced player captures a powerful piece he usually drops it back in on the next turn, as close to the enemy king as he can. But that's a mistake, because then his opponent knows an attack is imminent. More experienced players don't drop a captured piece until the situation is right and everything is set up to maximize its usefulness."

Neji's mouth went dry; he got the distinct impression that Shikamaru wasn't actually talking about an old man's board game. "So, you're saying that even a very powerful piece is only effective if used strategically?"

Shikamaru smiled wryly. "You catch on quick. But yeah, lots of beginning players just do the obvious thing and don't use their strongest pieces correctly. It's a bad mistake, and it can cost you the game."

"I think I understand. I will … consider it."

"Sure. If you ever take up _shogi_." Shikamaru spread his arms out, stretching, and rolled his back to cast another look up into the sky. "Well, I guess I'll get back. The sooner the Hokage's yelling starts, the sooner it can end. What a pain." Then Shikamaru turned and joined the pedestrians headed back the way he had come, to all appearances a thoroughly average Leaf-nin out for a casual stroll.

It was clear that Shikamaru knew, or guessed, something about Neji's new jutsu, and the role it was to play in the Hyuuga power struggle. Somehow he seemed also to have guessed that Neji hadn't given much thought to how he was going use the technique to his advantage – he'd assumed that just having it, and showing the elders he had it, would suffice. But he realized now that that was stupid and left too much to chance. It was a potent weapon he was creating, which was all the more reason to use it in a way that enhanced its power.

Exactly what that meant, and what he would have to do, occupied his thoughts for the rest of the walk home.

***

Tenten lived alone in a small apartment not far from the Academy. In all their years as teammates Neji had only been there a few times; usually they met up at the training grounds. He had never really thought about it before, but it was possible that she was embarrassed by the shabbiness of her quarters, the fact that she was an orphan.

As if he would ever care about such trivialities.

He knocked twice, a mere formality since he had already used his Byakugan to ascertain that she was inside, and he intended to speak to her whether she opened up for him or not. His resolve turned out to be unnecessary, though, as she laid aside the book she was reading and came swiftly to open the door. Just in time he remembered to deactivate the Byakugan – she would not take kindly to being spied on through the wall.

The door swung open and there she was. On seeing him the emotionless mask she'd been wearing for the past few weeks slipped slightly and she flushed, but then she clamped down hard on her feelings and pressed her lips into a thin straight line.

"Neji," she said blandly. "What do you want? Is it another mission?"

"Of course not. If it was, Lady Tsunade would have informed you first." While Neji worked to regain his rank, Tenten was still in command of their team.

"Then what?"

"I want to speak to you."

Her eyes widened fractionally and her posture became rigid. For a few seconds she said nothing. Then she slipped sideways, down onto the ground, slamming the door firmly behind her. Now she was standing opposite him with her arms folded. "What?" she asked again.

He regarded her carefully, and from the way her hands were clutching at her sleeves he could tell she was frightened. Not of him, surely, but perhaps of the situation. All along she had been the confident one, the initiator, but in the end she was just as new at this as he was. "I came here," he said calmly, "to say that you have been unfair to me."

She blinked in confusion. "Unfair? How?"

"From what I understand, you're upset because you feel that I am unable to depend on you. But that's hardly true – from the beginning I've needed you, to master the _kaiten_, to adjust to my blindness, to stay sane around Gai and Lee. I may not have always said so, because that is not my way, but you are invaluable to me."

She breathed in sharply. "If that's true, then why were you ready to just walk away from me, when you should have needed me the most?"

He inclined his head slightly. "That was different. To rely on another person for teamwork, to augment my own efforts, is acceptable. But to depend wholly on someone else for everything, while contributing nothing, is not something I am capable of."

"Even if it's someone close to you?"

"_Especially_ then. If you want someone who is happy to be a burden on you, then it was a mistake for us to become involved in the first place. Frankly, though, I think you deserve better."

"You – you do?" She was blushing furiously now, and seemed to have trouble looking him in the eye.

"Yes of course. Someone with no pride – why would a kunoichi of your skill want that?"

"There's pride, and then there's arrogance. You cross the line sometimes."

He raised an eyebrow. "It's only arrogance if it's unjustified."

Against her will, she snickered. "You're insufferable."

"Perhaps. But ultimately, whether you can tolerate that or not is up to you."

She sighed and let her arms fall down to her sides. "Dammit, Neji, you know I can do more than tolerate you."

"High praise. The feeling is mutual."

At last she met his eyes. Her expression had warmed considerably; she was smiling. "I _did_ miss you."

"And I you."

"Do you want to come inside?"

He looked away, up the street in the direction he would soon have to depart. "Not now," he answered regretfully. "There's somewhere I have to go – the Main House."

"More training with Hinata?"

"Theoretically. But I've finally perfected the jutsu I told you about, and today I mean to use it."

She clapped a hand over her mouth, lowered it again. "You've actually done it? So now you can hit a person's chakra points from five or ten meters away?"

"Twenty, actually."

"And you're going to show the elders today? Do you think it'll be enough to convince them?"

"On its own, perhaps not. But I've settled on a plan to use it … strategically. Hopefully that will give me more leverage."

Tenten frowned, not in anger but in thought. " 'Strategically.' What does that mean? You're going to play some kind of political game?"

"It's no game."

Her voice got softer. "Is it dangerous, Neji? Is that why you came here now – to patch things up before risking your life?"

He should have come earlier, so that they might have spent a little time together. But he hadn't been sure how the conversation would go, had had no idea forthrightness would be so effective. Shikamaru was absolutely right – Team Gai was best suited to the direct approach.

"It is dangerous, Tenten. As for risking my life – well, I'm just not sure."

Her face, so recently flushed with embarrassment, had gone ghostly pale, and her eyes looked stricken. From coldness to happiness to fear, their conversation had run an astonishing gamut in just a few minutes. "Don't die," she whispered.

"I don't intend to." He'd been afraid she would ask him not to go, and he'd be forced to disappoint her again, but he should have had more faith. She was very strong.

At that thought the deep affection he had for her peaked, and combined with his relief at finding she wanted him still and his fear of the coming confrontation to create an overwhelming flood of emotion. Without thinking he reached out and pulled her to him, and kissed her not tentatively but passionately, with conviction.

When he pulled back he had the satisfaction of seeing that he'd wiped that look of fear off her face; he didn't like to leave her like that. This expression, heated and astonished, was much better.

"I'll see you after," he said, and turned to go. It was a milestone, an important conversation with her in which he avoided looking like an ass. He hoped it would not be the last.

***

Hinata was like Lee, making progress through tiny incremental steps that were not themselves noticeable, but accumulated over time into astonishing advances. She was getting faster every day, and as they sparred Neji noticed that her strikes seemed more accurate; nearly every time she tried to send her chakra into his body it was somewhere near a _tenketsu_.

"Hinata-sama," he asked curiously after knocking her backward a few meters, "has your vision improved?"

She was panting and sweating, struggling to catch her breath. "What do you mean, nii-san?"

"I mean that you keep getting perilously close to striking my _tenketsu_. Can you see them?"

Her gaze drifted down his arm as she stared hard at the chakra network there. "There is … something that keeps attracting my attention. Almost … I can _almost_ …" She bit her lip, and he could see extra chakra flowing into her eye as she tried to boost her Byakugan's power. The effort was making her shake.

Finally she let it go, sinking down to her knees. "Not quite," she breathed. "Not quite yet."

He crossed the courtyard to help her stand. "Nevertheless, it seems clear that you are very close to being able to see the chakra points. A few more weeks and you should have it. It is as we thought – focusing all your effort into one eye instead of dividing it between two leads to a net increase in power." From the open room where Hiashi and the elders sat watching, he heard low murmuring.

Hinata was on her feet now, still a bit unsteady. "Can you continue?" Neji asked. He didn't want to push her, but it was vitally important that he get a chance to demonstrate his new technique while the elders were here to see it. They did not attend every training session, only some, and their presence was what had prompted him to choose this day.

"Yes," she told him. "I can go on, nii-san." Her voice lowered so that only Neji could hear. "But you'd better use it now, and not wait any longer."

"Right." He withdrew, moving as far away as the length of the courtyard allowed. She straightened up and assumed her stance as he activated the _chousen_. The long blue lines radiated out around him in every direction, and he saw his uncle and the elders lean forward a little, their attention suddenly sharper. Beside Jun, where she had lately taken to sitting, Hanabi's face darkened into a scowl.

Neji moved his feet and changed the position of his arms, and Lord Hyuuga hissed, "Is that … ?" To him and to the others, it would have looked almost like he was setting up for the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms.

And then Neji shut them all out, his uncle and his wrathful younger cousin and the wily old men, until there was no one in his awareness except himself and Hinata, her chakra network bright, clear, and vulnerable. This jutsu still needed every scrap of his concentration.

"Eight Trigrams," he said into the tense silence, "Sixty-Four Lines!" All of his rays disappeared except for two, one from each palm, that he moved to strike a pair of Hinata's _tenketsu_. She gasped as she felt the attack and instinctively raised her arms, but there was no blocking this technique. Two new lines appeared beside the first pair to hit four more chakra points, and then their number doubled again, and again, increasing in powers of two all the way up to sixty-four. Hinata jerked spasmodically with each wave, helpless against the assault. To an observer lacking the Byakugan the whole thing would have looked very odd – Hinata seizing for no apparent reason while Neji stood a distance away performing some kind of weird calisthenics, and all of it watched by a rapt audience of five.

After the final set of strikes Neji lowered his hands and came out of his hyper-focused state. He saw his cousin collapsed limply on the ground, her breathing labored and her chakra network in chaos. One of the strikes had cut off the chakra flowing into her eye and caused her Byakugan to deactivate.

He rushed over and crouched down next to her, experiencing a vertiginous jolt of recognition as he did so. He never felt guilty for hitting Lee, who was his partner and very tough, but this situation was all too reminiscent of the time he'd tried to kill Hinata. Mentally, he added his cousin's name to the list of people he would never use the _chousen _on again.

"Nii-san," she rasped when he turned her over. "Y-you did it." She smiled weakly.

"Be quiet," he ordered. "I'm going to try to—"

"Move aside, Neji." Lord Hyuuga loomed over them, his expression unreadable.

Neji obeyed, and Lord Hyuuga knelt and held his hands flat in the air less than a centimeter above Hinata's body. He began passing them slowly over her, pausing occasionally to emit a short burst of chakra precisely attenuated to reverse the changes the _chousen_ had made. After a few minutes of this Hinata's breath came easier, and her chakra network settled down into a semblance of order. Shakily she sat up, and allowed Hiashi to lift her from the ground onto the walkway and prop her against a pillar.

It was only after he'd finished attending to his daughter that Hiashi finally turned to his nephew. "So," he said, his face still and his eyes intense, "you've finally done it then. You've combined the _hakke chousen_ with the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms, and can now block an enemy's chakra flow from a distance."

Lord Hyuuga was just stating the obvious, so Neji said nothing.

"I notice that you waited until the elders were here to see it before giving me a demonstration. Was that intentional?"

Neji's gaze flicked toward the elders, who were displaying varying amounts of surprise. Hisao was nodding to himself, looking pleased, while beside him Hideaki was struggling hard to conceal his excitement. Jun's jaw was clenched and his expression grim, and Hanabi appeared gobsmacked.

"Yes," Neji replied, seeing no need to lie, "it was intentional."

Hiashi nodded. "I see. Well, congratulations; now everyone knows that you've added a powerful new weapon to the Hyuuga arsenal."

The moment for strategy had come, and Neji felt his heart begin to race. He forced himself to speak before he lost his nerve. "No," he said clearly.

His uncle frowned. "What do you mean, 'no'? I just saw the jutsu myself."

"I do not deny that I have created a new jutsu." Neji was amazed at how normal his voice sounded. "But I do deny its possession by this clan."

A small gasp issued from Hinata's location. Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "Explain that," he demanded.

"Certainly, Lord Hyuuga. While I live I serve the Main House, because of this curse mark you put on me. But I'm the only Hyuuga who can perform this technique, including you and your heirs. When I die, either in battle or of old age, it will die with me. The clan will not have gained a powerful new jutsu, just a single strong fighter. In the long-term, nothing will change at all."

Hideaki spoke up. "For this generation, you might be right, Neji. But now that we're sure the technique is possible for someone with enough talent, we'll know to begin training your children in it as soon as they're old enough. The odds are good that at least some of them will inherit your skill. And they'll have children who will also be instructed in the jutsu, and so on, until the majority of Hyuuga are capable of performing the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Lines. After all these years we are _very_ good at breeding for talent. We only need the raw materials, you, to design an approach to strengthen the clan considerably over time."

The elder's talk of breeding and raw materials was repellent. It made Neji's next words easier to say. "Yes sir," he replied icily. "I expected you to say something like that. But you're assuming I intend to have any children. I don't, not if they're going to be cursed like me."

There was a silence more charged than a _chidori_. "Nii-san—" Hinata began tremulously.

He held up a hand to silence her. "I'm completely serious about this, Hinata-sama. I will not consign another life to this servitude. My talent, whatever it may be, lives only as long as I do."

Hiashi's eyes had narrowed to slits, and his gaze was white-hot. "Suppose, Neji," he said slowly, "that I promised not to curse any of your children. Would that satisfy you?"

Neji shook his head. "No, Lord Hyuuga. I believe you would keep your word, but you can't speak for the next clan head, or the next. There's no way I can be sure none of my heirs would ever fall into the same trap I'm in. The only thing that would alter my decision is permanent change – unification of the Main and Branch Houses, the destruction of the cursed seal jutsu. And as far as I can tell, there's only one way change like _that_ is ever going to happen."

He didn't speak Hinata's name, but it seemed to whisper from the walls.

"Insolence!" spat Jun. "He is trying to coerce you, Lord Hyuuga! To meddle in affairs that are none of his concern!"

"Indeed," agreed Hiashi. He was so angry now that the veins around his eyes were bulging, pulsing with a life of their own. His voice, though, remained controlled. "I don't like being dictated to, Neji. Particularly not by a Branch House member less than half my age."

"I have only told you of my own personal decision. What you choose to make of it is up to you."

"And if I _ordered_ you to produce children?"

"I would refuse."

This was it, the first time he'd ever openly defied his uncle. Hinata gasped again, her hands pressed to her mouth. He was willing to bet that even she had never dared speak to Hiashi like that.

_This is my strongest piece, Hinata-sama, used in the most effective way I can think of. Showing them an ultimate jutsu and conditioning its acquisition on your ascension – that should bring us much closer to victory, even if I have to pay a heavy price along the way._

"Hisao," called Lord Hyuuga without turning around, "how do you think I should respond to this?"

Hisao was Hinata's ally, the elder who regretted the loss of compassion among the Hyuuga. But he bowed his head and said reluctantly, "For such blatant disobedience, Lord Hyuuga, there can be only one consequence."

"I agree," called Jun without being asked, a strangely avid expression on his face.

Hiashi held up his left hand, now formed into a hand sign Neji remembered vividly from childhood. "You understand what they're suggesting, Neji?"

"Yes."

"And you're not going to back down?"

"No."

"Then you know what I have to do. An open challenge to my authority, in the presence of my elders, cannot be ignored. Prepare yourself."

Neji had enough time to square his shoulders and take a deep breath, before Hiashi raised his left hand and muttered something under his breath.

What came next was pain, a scorching agony emanating from his brow. At first it resembled a minor burn, but continued climbing in intensity until even the touch of the forehead-protector's soft cloth on his curse mark was unendurable. Without thinking Neji reached up and snatched it off, only to discover that contact with the mild air was just as excruciating. The pain heightened to sickening levels and he could no longer stand; he sank helplessly to the ground and let out an agonized moan. Black spots swam in his vision, bile rose in his throat, and he knew with certainty that if Hiashi didn't let up soon he was going to die.

Hazily he became aware of someone screaming, an impassioned female voice crying _stop_, and then like jerking awake from a nightmare the pain abruptly ceased.

He tried to look at the elders and his uncle, but gave it up when the attempt set his head spinning. He felt strangely emptied, as if the pain had taken part of _him_ along with it when it drained away, leaving nothing but a hollow shell to dissolve in the next strong wind.

Someone drew close. "Nii-san," said Hinata tearfully. There was the scrape of metal on earth, and then she pressed his dropped forehead-protector back into his hand. "Nii-san … you'll be all right. I'll take you home."

"Not yet, Hinata." Hiashi seemed to be speaking to them from a great height. "I need to know if he understands. Neji, if, for the good of the clan, I ordered you to produce children, what would you say now?"

Carefully he tied his forehead-protector back in place, then planted his hands on the ground and began pushing himself upward. Hinata reached out to assist him.

"Don't!" he said harshly. "Don't help me!"

She froze and he knew a moment's regret for his roughness, but he had his pride to consider. Finally he was standing again, swaying a little and feeling the awful weakness of his limbs. He looked directly at his uncle, who was just as pale as if he'd been the one tortured.

"If you gave me that order," Neji said deliberately, "I would refuse."

Lord Hyuuga's lips tightened and he raised his left hand again. But then Hinata's hand shot out to clamp around his wrist. "Father," she said, "if you do that again he'll die. Stop this now before it goes too far."

He looked into his daughter's face, streaming with tears and set with determination, and disbelief crept over his stern features. With a quick jerk of his arm he freed himself from her grasp, but continued to stare at her as if he'd never seen her before.

"All right," he said at last. "You take him home, Hinata. Get him out of my sight."

She hastened to do as she was told, slinging Neji's arm across her shoulders so that she could take some of his weight. He wanted to tell her to forget it, that she was injured and he was capable of finding his own way home, but that wasn't exactly true at the moment. He wouldn't make it one block alone.

She supported him down the hall and out the front door, as an animated discussion began in the courtyard behind them. He wanted to eavesdrop but lacked the necessary chakra.

"Nii-san," said Hinata once they were outside. "Y-you shouldn't have done that. When I asked for your help, this isn't what I meant. That was … a terrible thing to see."

She was still crying, tears sliding silently down her cheeks. "It was necessary," he said quietly. "I wanted the elders to see the jutsu for themselves, and there was no way Lord Hyuuga could tolerate being disobeyed in front of them. He had no more choice in the matter than I did. But we've accomplished something; we've raised the stakes. Your father's selection of an heir is about more than philosophy – now it's also about power, and that's something both he and the elders can understand."

"Never again," she said, more to herself than to him. "I'll never see that curse used again." But they both knew that was not a promise she could keep just yet.

They came to an intersection, and Hinata began to pull him left, toward the Branch House where he lived. He resisted.

"Not that way," he told her. "I don't want you to take me home. I want you to take me to Tenten."


	11. Bitter Victory

It was a summer's day but the forest was cool and shady, shot through with bars of yellow-gold light and cacophonous with birdsong. Team Gai was on its way back from a mission and within a kilometer of home. Through his Byakugan Neji could see Konoha's buildings and the people inside them, and by channeling chakra to his ears he could pick up the low rumble of sound rising off the village.

"We'll be there in less than an hour," he told Tenten, who was walking sedately beside him. They could have gotten there faster, of course, but the mission had left them worn out and in no mood to rush.

Or at least Neji and Tenten felt that way. Gai and Lee had agreed to the slower pace only after coming up with a youthful alternative. A green blur shot through the underbrush up ahead and slammed hard into a tall tree, striking it with such force that it broke in half and toppled to the forest floor. "I have found you, Gai-sensei!" cried Lee in triumph.

Gai extricated himself from the fallen tree's branches, looking a little shell-shocked. At last he stood and gave Lee a thumbs-up, accompanied by his shiny white smile. "So you have, Lee! And your method of dislodging me from my perch was spectacular! A lesser shinobi might've just called out for me to come down, but of course that wasn't good enough for you!"

"Thank you sensei! And now, is it not time for Neji-kun and Tenten-san to have a turn?"

"That's true. You're always thinking of your teammates. Neji, Tenten – you can finally join in our game of hide-and-seek. Tenten, you'll hide, and Neji will find you."

Neji exchanged a look with Tenten and saw that she too had absolutely no intention of participating.

"Did it ever occur to you, sensei," she began deliberately, "that Neji might have a certain _advantage_ in this game?"

Gai's smile drooped a little. "What do you mean?"

Neji shook his head. Gai just _had_ to be joking this time.

"You know," she urged, "something that might make it easier for him to find other people?"

Gai's smile was completely gone now. "I'm sorry, Tenten, but I still don't know exactly what you're trying to tell me. Could you be referring to his hair? I don't see how that would help him. Or maybe you mean his weapons, but _you_ have more of those, so that's an advantage to you— "

"His _eye_!" Tenten shouted in exasperation. "His _Byakugan_! How am I supposed to hide from someone who can see through trees, or hear a heartbeat at a hundred meters, for that matter?"

"Oh, that," said Gai with a shrug. "I wouldn't consider that an unfair advantage. It just makes the game more of a challenge, more _youthful_."

"How about this, sensei," suggested Neji over Tenten's sputtering disbelief. "_I'll_ hide, and Tenten can find me."

Gai frowned in thought and rubbed his chin.

"Sensei, that does seem reasonable," Lee put in.

"I suppose it works," Gai agreed.

Tenten was looking at Neji incredulously. "You actually want to play this game?"

"Yes. It's not as if there's anything else to do. So Lee will count to fifty, and I'll hide, and when he's done counting you'll come find me."

She was scanning his face as if in search of a clue written there. "Uh, fine, whatever."

"You wish me to count, Neji-kun? Shall I begin now?"

"Yes, thank you Lee."

Lee snapped out a salute and began to count in a carrying voice. "One, two, three …"

But as his count progressed Lee appeared more and more confused, a sentiment that was mirrored on the faces of Gai and Tenten. Neji hadn't gone into the woods to hide, and didn't show any outward sign that he even noticed the countdown. He just kept walking, gazing calmly around at the scenery.

"Forty!" shouted Lee, trying to provoke Neji into action by counting louder. "Forty-one! Forty-two! Forty-three! Forty-four! _Forty-five!_ _Forty-six!_ _Forty-seven!_ _Forty-eight! Forty-nine!_" Lee took a deep breath, and Tenten grimaced and covered her ears. "FIFTY!"

Neji pretended to examine a fluffy cloud visible through a gap in the canopy overhead. "Oh no," he remarked idly, "Tenten's going to come find me now."

She was laughing so hard she could barely talk. She reached over and lightly swatted him on the shoulder. "Found you!"

"I guess I lose, then," said Neji gravely. "Whose turn is it now, Gai-sensei?"

Gai and Lee wore identical open-mouthed expressions. "I am sorry Neji-kun, but that was _not_ very youthful!" said Lee indignantly.

"No it wasn't!" Gai agreed.

"Maybe I just didn't understand the rules, sensei. Perhaps you and Lee could demonstrate one more time?"

Gai was scowling deeply. "I'm not sure why, Neji, but I have sneaking suspicion you're not being completely honest. But I'm your teacher, and if you ask for another demonstration I'll provide it. Lee! This time _you_'ll hide, and I'll find you!"

"Yes sir!" Lee gave another salute and took off, vanishing quickly from sight.

Gai pointed a beefy finger at Neji. "Watch him carefully! Observe the skillful way he hides himself from me!"

"Yes," said Neji. He engaged his Byakugan and pointedly turned his head to the left, westward. "I see what you mean …"

Gai's expression turned crafty. "You, er, do, do you? Well then … I guess it's been about fifty seconds. Keep watching." Without further comment he plunged away into the woods, headed west.

"I'll admit it's a childish game," said Tenten, still a bit breathless. "But you shouldn't spoil it for Lee."

"I didn't. I looked in the exact opposite direction from the one Lee took. This way Gai won't find him before we reach the village."

Her ensuing laughter echoed off the surrounding trees. "You know," she said finally, "I think I'll actually miss having Gai-sensei around. It was sort of like the old days." Neji was still technically a _chuunin_, so on missions classified S or A, like this one, Tsunade had taken to sending their teacher along as a token _jounin_. But after today Neji's quota would be filled and he would finally regain his former rank, making Gai's presence superfluous.

"Hn," said Neji. Truthfully he was going to miss Gai too, but he wasn't about to admit it. Not even to Tenten, who knew him better than anyone else.

She shot a quick look after Gai. Detecting no sign of him, she reached over and clasped Neji's hand. By agreement they tried to avoid overt displays of affection on missions, not least because Gai had a tendency to sigh and rhapsodize about "youthful passion," but as they were temporarily alone Neji supposed it was all right. He squeezed her hand gently.

"You were amazing on the mission," she told him. "They'll start sending you out alone soon."

"Perhaps." He didn't feel too excited at the prospect, even though the combination of old and new techniques had made him stronger than ever. On this mission he'd disabled several enemies by pressing their chakra points from a distance, leaving them no chance to fight back or injure any member of the team. But he'd also found himself relying on Tenten's explosives to handle massed opponents, and on Lee and Gai to take enough pressure off him to make the _kaiten_ unnecessary. His old self would have considered such dependence a necessary and hopefully temporary evil, but now, with his single eye, Neji saw clearly that it was not always weakness, and not always unpleasant, to need another person. Though he certainly _could_ handle a solo mission, he didn't much want to.

To serve the Leaf as part of a united Team Gai, and to shape his clan as Hinata's right hand, was what he wanted now. And Tenten too, of course. He glanced over at her and found her watching him, smiling. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Lee! I will find you!" bellowed Gai from somewhere nearby. Then he came sprinting east across their field of vision, arms spread wide, making no effort to avoid bushes or saplings. From the red hue of his skin it was obvious he'd opened at least some of the inner gates. Flocks of birds rose up from the disturbed foliage, squawking irately.

"Didn't you say Lee went that way?" asked Tenten. "If he finds him soon, he'll try to make us play again."

Neji scanned the treetops ahead. "No, it's all right, Lee's headed back this way, and in that jumpsuit he blends right in. Gai-sensei will never spot him."

"Let's hope you're right."

He did turn out to be right; Lee had evidently learned something about stealth, because he managed to avoid their teacher until the dense forest turned into weeds and grass at the foot of Konoha's high wall. Gai emerged from the woods along with Neji and Tenten, a couple of meters away from the village's open front gates.

"He's wily," said Gai grimly, shading his eyes and peering back through the trees. "He must be a genius, a natural master of deception and disguise."

"Or he just heard you yelling," Tenten said.

Before Gai could respond to that something slammed into him from behind, springing up from the tall grasses in a whirl of energy to catch him squarely between the shoulder blades and send him sprawling.

"Gai-sensei! I have won! Not only did I evade you in the forest, but I also beat you back to the village! Admit your defeat!" Lee was grinning from ear to ear, shoulders thrown back and hands on his hips.

Gai rolled over and looked up at Lee from beneath heavy black eyebrows. "I admit it, Lee, and I couldn't be more proud. Every teacher dreams of this day, when his student will surpass—"

"Excuse me," said an icy voice from just inside the gate.

Neji turned around with some relief; he was glad of an excuse to skip the rest of what was shaping up to be a rather long speech culminating in a hug. That feeling quickly evaporated, though, when he saw that the person standing a few paces away and watching him intently was Hisao, elder member of the Main House.

Tenten gasped and swiftly drew a handful of _shuriken_, while Lee just blinked in surprise and Gai fell silent and picked himself up off the ground.

"What do _you_ want?" Tenten asked aggressively, her body tense and poised for an attack. She'd been spoiling for a fight with the Main House ever since Neji came to her after being cursed -- it had been all he and Hinata could do to keep her from plastering Hiashi's mansion with paper bombs.

Hisao didn't deign to answer her question. He might have been the most open-minded of his clan's rulers, but to outsiders he still presented the cold and unflappable demeanor of a true Hyuuga. "Neji," he said calmly, "I heard you'd be returning today and came to meet you. It's been a while."

That was true – Neji hadn't set foot in the Main House since delivering his ultimatum to Hiashi. He and Hinata continued to train together, but she'd apologetically informed him they'd have to do it somewhere else, as he was no longer welcome in his uncle's home.

Neji put out a hand to quiet Tenten and asked, "What do you want of me?"

Hisao sighed and bowed his head, suddenly looking rather old and tired. Even his manner of dress was different – instead of standard Hyuuga robes he now wore formal black. "There's been a death, Neji. Someone very important to the clan."

Immediately Hinata's face came to mind, and his heart hammered painfully in his chest. "Who—?"

"Lord Hyuuga."

Everything seemed to freeze; for an instant the birds stopped singing and the wind ceased to blow. Then the world restarted and Neji gathered enough wits to ask, "How is that _possible_? He was so strong!"

"He was a shinobi. You know what that means. It was an S-rank reconnaissance mission that turned out to be an ambush. He killed twelve of the enemy before they finally managed to bring him down, and then he blew himself up rather than allow the Byakugan to be captured."

Blew himself up … of course, Hiashi would not have had a curse mark to seal away his _kekkei genkai_ after death. But he should never have been in that position in the first place.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Neji objected. "He was head of the family – why would he go on an S-rank mission to begin with?"

"Because the Hokage requested a _jounin_-level Hyuuga for an extremely dangerous assignment and there weren't that many to choose from. It was determined that only two men would be capable of it: Lord Hyuuga and you. We all encouraged him to send you, but in the end he decided to take your place."

His head spun and he actually took a few steps back, until he felt Tenten's reassuring touch on his arm. "Why? Why would he—"

"He said he didn't want to deprive the clan of your talent." Hisao's tone sharpened. "But I'm surprised at you, Neji, dwelling on such a personal matter when you still haven't asked the most important question of all."

"Then … has it been already been decided who will succeed Lord Hyuuga?"

"Indeed it has. Lord Hyuuga recorded his wishes before he left, as a precaution. He chose Hinata."

***

He couldn't seem to move fast enough, even though he'd already left Hisao far behind in his sprint for the Main House.

"Go!" the old man had said to him. "If you're truly loyal then you must go to her now, because no time will be more dangerous than this, when her position is still insecure!"

Neji hadn't needed to be told twice.

And then the Main House was in sight, and through its stately walls he could see dozens of people crowded inside. The center of activity was a large rectangular room in the northwest corner, and seated on a cushion within was Hinata.

He hesitated briefly at the door, remembering his uncle's ban. But Hiashi was dead and this was Hinata's house now. He slid the door open and stepped inside.

The interior hummed with hushed voices and shifted with dark shadows, as black-clad pale-skinned Hyuuga mingled and spoke softly to each other. He said nothing to any of them; they might be family, but at the moment they were irrelevant.

Or maybe not. He noted as he pressed forward that nearly half were wearing forehead-protectors or wrappings across their brows, a sure sign they were Branch members. But on occasions like this it was customary for the Main and Branch households to gather separately; he vaguely remembered that, at the death of the Lady Hyuuga more than a decade ago, the Branch household had sat its own mourning and sent small parties to Hiashi's mansion to pay their respects. So it was significant to see everyone mixed together like this.

Already things were changing.

He reached the room were Hinata waited and stepped over the threshold. Most people here were seated, attentively oriented toward the far wall and their new leader. Hideaki was on Hinata's immediate left, leaning in to speak to her. He, like everyone else, went quiet when he caught sight of the new arrival. All talk died down and more than a dozen pairs of white eyes swung his way.

That was the last thing Neji saw before dropping to his knees and pressing his forehead to the floor. "Lady Hyuuga," he said, voice thick with emotion.

"Please, nii-san, sit up." He obeyed, pushing himself upward to find her smiling wanly at him. She seemed tired –there were bluish circles under her eyes and her left eye, the real one, was slightly bloodshot. It occurred to him then that she had just lost her father and may not yet have had the time or privacy to cry.

"I'm glad to see you returned safely from your mission. Am I right that this was the last one you had to complete before being restored to _jounin_?"

She wasn't stuttering or hesitating; she must have been making a tremendous effort to avoid those habits of uncertainty. "Yes. I haven't seen the Hokage yet, but I believe that when I do she will reinstate me." He'd been so pleased with that prospect only an hour ago, but now it was insignificant.

"Then, congratulations. We are all proud."

He acknowledged her praise with a bow. "I was … stunned to hear about Lord Hyuuga."

Her bottom lip quivered a bit. No one else seemed to notice. "I once heard him say that the best kind of death was in battle. He went very bravely."

"Yes."

She closed her eyes briefly, reopened them. "Neji-nii san, I have been sitting for a very long time, and I want to speak to you privately. Come take a walk with me around the courtyard."

"Of course." He rose and she did the same, while Hideaki and several others surreptitiously shot him pointed looks.

Once they were outside in the empty courtyard he said quietly, "I'm sorry to say this, but you need to be careful. Speaking with me alone makes it seem as if you favor me."

"I _do_ favor you."

"If you make it too obvious, it will arouse jealousy."

"I know. But I've listened to the others for hours already, and there's something urgent I have to tell you."

"Something urgent?" He looked at her in alarm – her shoulders were sagging and her fists were clenched. Then it hit him, the piece of this scene that was missing. "Lady Hyuuga, where is Hanabi-sama?"

Hinata's face was stricken. "She's gone. As soon as Father's wishes were made known she left, and hasn't been seen since. And Jun-san has also disappeared."

Jun and Hanabi, missing and in all probability together. That did not bode well. "I see. What are you planning to do?"

"I want you to find them for me. I would go myself, but for the moment I have too much to attend to here. I want you to find out where they've gone and report back."

He raised his eyebrows. "There's no need for that. I can simply deal with them myself and bring them back here by force, if necessary."

She shook her head. "No! I only want you to find them, so that I can go speak with them myself."

"You mean to negotiate, convince them to return?"

"Yes."

"That may not be possible. It could be that they are completely unwilling to accept your leadership."

She looked down, her sadness palpable. "If that's the case, then I will … let them go. I won't bind them to me against their will -- there are no more caged birds in this family. But either way I have to know, and Hanabi didn't say anything before she left."

Her desire to be reunited with her sister, together with her willingness to give the girl her freedom, touched him deeply. "I will find them," he promised.

"Thank you, nii-san. I have been … so worried for Hanabi." Hinata paused and gazed pensively into the cherry tree, which had long since dropped its blooms. "She's like Father, you know – she never shows any emotion except anger. But I think she must be in pain. Her whole life she was told it was her role to be the heir, to be strong enough to lead the family. It was even rumored that she was conceived as a replacement for me, because of my weakness. So she believed succeeding our father was the whole reason for her existence. And then around the time of our first _chuunin _exam, for no reason she could understand, Father began to have doubts. It must have seemed like she was losing his love. And now he's left the clan to me, and I think she must be very confused, and feel like she doesn't know who she is anymore."

He thought back to himself at that age, to a time when his own understanding of the world and his place in it had been shattered. "If you are right, then Hanabi-sama is on the edge between darkness and light. By talking to her you may be able to influence her choice, but it will be dangerous. She may try to harm you as I did."

She turned to him and he saw her left eye was shining brightly with unshed tears. "I have to try. She's as much a victim in all this as you or me. If I can't reach my own sister, what chance do I have to fix things for everyone else?"

To that he had no good answer. But he decided that if and when she went to meet Hanabi, she was not going to do it alone. He would go along to protect her.

"I will find her for you," he vowed again. "Things may yet work out for the best."

"I hope so." She reached up to wipe at her left eye, then glanced over her shoulder at the mansion, where myriad responsibilities called to her. She began moving toward the doorway. "I believe Hanabi loves me in her own way. Just like my father did."

Suddenly, like the thrust of a blade, Neji felt the pain of some sharp-edged emotion that froze him in place. After a moment he identified it as grief, with a shading of guilt. "Lord Hyuuga took my place on that mission," he confessed to her retreating back, unsure if she already knew it or not. "It should have been me."

She'd been on the verge of reentering the house, but halted briefly. "I do not blame you at all, nii-san. Father did what he thought was best for the clan. Now I will, too." Then she took a deep breath and went inside.

Neji stayed behind a few minutes, remembering his uncle. Hiashi had both saved him and acted as his torturer, branded him with a mark of submission and helped him regain his independence. In life he'd adhered to hierarchy and tradition, but through his successor he'd enabled equality and change. In the end he was too complex for real understanding, and the paradoxes of his life were now being played out between his two daughters. They were also raging through Neji's mind, where grief at his uncle's death warred with relief that his rule was over, and the image of a father-figure contrasted with that of a captor.

Given time, and the successful reinvention of the Hyuuga, it was possible he would come to remember his uncle with love.

***

Tenten drew the edge of the blade along the whetstone, eliciting the satisfying metallic _scrape_ that always struck her as subtly musical. She didn't even have to test the _tanto_; she could tell by the sound it made that it needed a few more passes.

Maintenance of her many weapons was a good way to pass the time and keep her hands busy. Unfortunately it was also fairly mindless, leaving nothing to distract from the worry gnawing at her mind. Neji was alone in that nest of white-eyed snakes, in the domain of people who had seen him tortured and thought it was right. She couldn't go with him, not yet, so all that was left was for her to wait and worry.

And hone her _tanto_, of course.

Footsteps crunched across the sandy ground, and Tenten looked up to see an all-too-familiar face.

"Hanabi," she said, gripping her weapon tightly and noting the girl's customary wrathful expression. Her hair was short now, cut stylishly to obscure the damage Neji had done to it with the _chousen_.

"You think it's over, don't you?" the girl spat. "Just sitting here waiting for my cousin to come tell you about all the changes Hinata's made."

"Pretty much. Don't you have somewhere else to be? Your father did just die, after all." It might have been a cruel thing to say, but Hanabi hardly seemed overcome with grief.

Her thin brows knit. "What would _you_ know about it? You don't even have a family."

In one fluid motion Tenten rose, and Hanabi stepped hastily back and settled into the Gentle Fist stance. Tenten smiled grimly.

"You know, this is perfect. I've been waiting for a chance like this for weeks. Neji may have taken it easy on you out of respect for your father, but I _won't_." She hefted the _tanto_, decided it was sharp enough after all, and drew her arm back to throw.

That's when she became aware of a presence at her back— someone had taken advantage of her preoccupation to approach from behind. She whirled and stabbed downward, feeling her blade plunge deep into wet flesh and strike bone. She had time enough to see a dour lined face, long graying hair, and a pair of anguished white eyes beneath a Leaf forehead-protector, before a sharp pain flared in her neck and she blacked out.

**A/N: Many thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, especially those who've been kind enough to leave comments on several different chapters. This is the beginning of the home stretch; I predict only a few more chapters before the end. And for mafalda: Sorry I couldn't comply with your request for fluff, but I just didn't see any way to work it in here. Hopefully the inclusion of green youthfulness was an acceptable substitute ... **


	12. Delegation and Persistence

The old man had clearly been dead less than a day, as his corpse was still locked in the rigid grip of rigor mortis and relatively few insects had moved in to feed. Those that had come, mainly flies, were concentrated in a shifting black mass just under Jun's collarbone, where sticky maroon blood congealed around the protruding hilt of a _tanto_. The _tanto_'s blade was wholly embedded in Jun's flesh, at an angle that would have brought its tip down against his scapula. He'd been run through and bled out in moments.

That much Neji could determine visually, from a distance. He'd found the body himself, coming to meet Tenten, and immediately gone back to the village to summon help. Now an investigation team assembled by the Hokage worked the scene – Sakura, wearing gloves and a gauze mask, examined the corpse, while Kiba and his white dog Akamaru moved outward in a widening spiral, sniffing everything.

"The presence of a medic-nin is probably unnecessary," said Neji to the man beside him. "It's obvious what killed him."

Shino, the third investigator, did not respond. Though it was a hot and humid summer evening he wore his customary hooded jacket, together with a pair of sunglasses that completely obscured his eyes. To an observer he would have looked utterly inactive, but Neji knew better, having seen a stream of insects emanate from his sleeves just minutes before.

"The real question," Neji continued, "is _who_."

Shino shifted slightly, turning his head to peer sideways out of his hood. "Are you looking for revenge?" he asked blandly.

Neji's eyebrows shot up. The thought had never occurred to him – he wasn't exactly sorry Jun was dead. "Of course not. This man and I were not close. He betrayed Lady Hyuuga and somehow got himself killed, and that sounds like justice to me." Neji didn't add his other thought, that with Jun dead Hanabi would be left isolated and easier to control.

Cold-bloodedness was a common Hyuuga trait.

Shino again gave no reply and returned his attention to Kiba, now crouching low and listening intently to a series of low staccato growls from Akamaru. Abruptly Kiba stood and turned, raising a hand to beckon them closer.

Giving Jun's corpse a wide berth, Neji and Shino moved swiftly over the sandy ground. Soon Neji could see what had attracted the dog-nin's attention: a pair of oblong depressions, parallel to one another and gently pointed.

"Footprints," he said.

Kiba ran a hand through his scruffy brown hair. "Yeah, anyone can see that. But Akamaru's picked up something else, the scent of the person who left 'em."

"Who is it?" asked Shino.

"Akamaru doesn't know."

Neji felt a spurt of irritation. "Then why," he asked coldly, "did you call us over here? Was it just to tell us you've found nothing?"

When he spoke like that most people were cowed. Kiba wasn't – he looked Neji squarely in the face, so that the triangular maroon markings on both his cheeks were visible, and said, "Of course not." It came out almost as a snarl. "Akamaru remembers the scent of everyone he's ever met, so the fact he doesn't know this one is important. Besides, he _can_ tell that the person is from your clan."

"A Hyuuga?"

"That's right. Akamaru says it's a girl who smells a lot like Hinata."

"Hanabi-sama, then." It seemed obvious now; Hanabi and Jun had been in league, so she'd have been involved in whatever transpired here.

Above his glasses, Shino's eyebrows knit. "Neji-san, weren't the dead man and Hanabi allies?"

"I think so, since I know Jun opposed Hinata-sama's leadership and they disappeared at the same time."

"Then it wouldn't make any sense for her to kill him, would it?"

Put so starkly, it was a shocking thought. But Hanabi was the product of a truly twisted lineage and in a state of desperation, so Neji couldn't dismiss it out of hand. Right now, for her, it was _possible_.

"Hold on," said Kiba. "All I said was that a Hyuuga – probably Hanabi – stood here. I didn't say she did the killing."

Neji was struck by the assuredness in the dog-nin's voice. "_I_ can't be certain she didn't. Can you?"

Kiba shrugged. "Yeah. Remember that Akamaru and I started sniffing back at the body. We smelled everything – the old man _and_ the knife sticking out of his chest. A third person's scent was all over the handle, and concentrated pretty heavily on the ground too. And Akamaru and I both recognized this one."

"Who?"

"Your teammate, Tenten."

Neji whirled, activated his Byakugan, and focused on Jun's corpse. There wasn't anything to see, just a moldering body, but he looked specifically at the shaft of metal invading the old man's chest, the blade that had ended his life. It was broad and flat, perhaps a foot long, with a looped metal handle. He wasn't sure exactly what he was looking for, other than some sure indication that the weapon was Tenten's, but of course there was nothing. The _tanto_ was thoroughly generic, something any _chuunin_ might carry.

"Well?" Kiba demanded. "See anything?"

Neji deactivated the Byakugan and turned around again. "No. I see nothing to confirm what you're telling me. But I did ask Tenten to meet me here today. I assumed that she heard about the trouble here and went somewhere else to wait." It was the only reason he'd been able to come up with to explain why she hadn't turned up, and was exactly the sort of level-headed thing she might do.

It seemed, though, that her absence had a more sinister explanation.

"Apparently she did come to meet you, after all," said Shino thoughtfully. "And encountered Hanabi and Jun. But did she attack them, or did they attack her?"

Neji's mouth went dry as he remembered Tenten's reaction to the activation of his curse mark, her outrage at seeing him weak and in pain. She was normally sensible, but she had a temper and had yet to let go of her grudge against the Main House. It was all too easy to believe that she would have attacked first and asked questions later. Was she in hiding, then, having fled after committing a terrible crime?

If she was it was his fault, not hers, for involving her in a situation where she had no power, and for sending her here to wait. If there was punishment to be dispensed he would take as much of it as he could; he would not allow her to suffer for his mistakes.

Then he thought back to a scene not far from here, to a time when she had sighed with disappointment and said "You _still_ can't bring yourself to depend on me …" She wanted him to trust her, to rely on her to do the right thing for them both.

He did.

She was like her jutsu – sharp, swift, and most of all _accurate._ She might have borne a grudge, might have made threats and even thrown a _kunai_ at Hanabi, but she would never have taken it this far. She was too disciplined for that.

"No," he said aloud, in response to Shino and his own unspoken doubts. "No, she would never kill without a reason. He must have tried to harm her."

"How can you know that?" Kiba demanded irritably. "The evidence doesn't tell us either way."

"I know Tenten," replied Neji simply.

"She _had_ a reason," said a voice from behind them, and then Sakura was there, arranging the contents of a sample case and peeling off her gloves. Her mask was pulled down around her neck.

"You found something?" asked Shino.

"Yes. Nothing about the cause of death, of course, because that's clearly the _tanto_. But underneath the body there was a little pile of these." She retrieved a tiny plastic bag from within the case and held it up for them all to see. It appeared nearly empty, except for a fine grey powder at the bottom.

"Metal shavings." Neji felt a pang. "She must have been sharpening the _tanto_. She does that when she's waiting."

Shino was unimpressed. "That only confirms that she was here, which we already know. Have you found anything else important, Sakura? Something to explain your statement?"

She seemed to hesitate briefly, then pulled out a wrinkled sheet of paper. There was a little blood on it, up near the corner, dried out to a blackish color. "This was tucked into his robes. I didn't bag it up, even though I probably should have. Like you said, we already pretty much know who was here, and it's clear this was meant to be read by a certain person." Then she extended her arm toward Neji, handing it to him.

He took it and looked down to see neat lines written in an elegant, aristocratic hand. The genteel writing was at odds with the brutal message:

_ "Neji-nii san,_

_ You and Hinata-nee san have taken everything from me,_

_ so now I have taken something equally important from_

_ you. Tenten and I are still in the village, so I am certain_

_ you will be able to find us. I want Hinata-nee san to _

_ come speak with me alone by sunset tomorrow, or I will_

_ kill your teammate. I do not want to do it, but please_

_ believe that I will. I want to speak to my sister so we can_

_ arrange a way of giving me back what is rightfully mine._

_ --Hanabi"_

He read it once, quickly, then again more slowly. He felt shock, panic, and rage in quick succession, and clamped down hard on them all, so that a slightly creased brow was the only outward sign of his distress.

"What is it? What's it say?" asked Kiba.

Neji made sure to keep his voice very even and controlled. "Apparently Hanabi-sama has kidnapped Tenten and is holding her until Lady Hyuuga comes to negotiate."

For a moment Kiba looked confused, then his expression cleared. "Oh, you mean Hinata." Of course he could not have been used to hearing his teammate referred to by her new title. "So Tenten killed Jun when he and Hanabi came to kidnap her?"

"It seems so." Probably they thought she'd be a pushover, easy prey, and she'd proved them wrong.

"Where's the meeting supposed to happen?"

"I don't know. She only says that she's somewhere in the village, and I'm supposed to find her."

"That shouldn't be too hard," said Shino. "Kiba can track her scent from here."

"Yeah, that's no problem." Kiba reached down to pat Akamaru's head. "You heard him. Let's go, boy!" Akamaru put his nose down and began snuffling off to the southwest.

Before he could follow his hound Neji caught Kiba's arm. "Don't engage her, Kiba. Just find out her location. Anything more puts Tenten at risk."

Kiba nodded once. "Got it."

"Meet us in the Hokage's office," said Shino. "Lady Tsunade will be the one to decide on a response, and she'll need whatever information we can give her."

Kiba signaled his comprehension with a wave and then sprinted after Akamaru, taking deep breaths through his nose to pick up the scent. Neji watched him leave, finding it unexpectedly hard not to follow.

* * *

She had suffered losses, but she didn't mean to give up.

The older girl, laid out in an untidy pile in the corner of the room, murmured and turned over in her sleep. Hanabi eyed her cautiously, wondering if she might be waking. That technique Jun had used _should_ leave her unconscious for the rest of the day, but Tenten had already proved stronger than expected. Hanabi had never seen anyone move as fast as she had, whirling in place to impale Jun.

It should be all right, though, even once Tenten regained consciousness. Hanabi had removed all her weapons, both those on her pack and those on her body, and tied her up securely. The hostage would pose no risk to her; all further threats would come from outside, where the thick forest sheltered deadly beasts and creeping assassins indiscriminately. Hanabi had her Byakugan engaged and was using it to keep a watch on her surroundings, alert to any sign of an attack. It could come at any moment and she had to be ready.

Briefly Hanabi wished she had set the deadline for sometime sooner than sunset tomorrow. It was going to be a long, lonely night, during which she would not be able to let her guard down long enough to sleep. Jun should have been here, of course, to share the burden, but because of Tenten he wasn't and Hanabi was alone.

She felt her isolation with the keenness of a sharpened knife.

She and Jun hadn't been exactly close – he was too chilly, too guarded for that. But he'd filled a void after Hiashi's death, and also before that when her father's belief in her mysteriously began to wane. Unlike Hinata she'd never had to function as her own sole source of confidence; she wasn't really sure she knew how. She would learn, though, because anything Hinata could do, she could do too.

Of course Hinata had supporters now, a whole crowd of people behind her. There were the elders and most of the Branch House, and above all _Neji_. According to Jun, Neji was the ultimate cause of her pain, the catalyst that finally changed Hiashi's mind. Once Hanabi had admired him for his excellence, but now when she thought of his preference for her sister and his utter lack of regard for _her_, she felt only rage.

Soon Neji and everyone else would have to acknowledge her ruthlessness. She was more daring and capable of action than her sister. Hinata just talked, and sought harmony, and was _weak_. Hinata probably wouldn't have carried on after seeing her only ally cut down in an instant.

And that brought her back to thinking about Jun's death, the way his blood had gushed out in a crimson torrent. There had been no last words or dying declarations, only a surprised old man and a sticky red pool. Hanabi was a ninja and had seen death before, but not often and not like this. She'd _known_ Jun, and watched the life drain from his eyes, and been helpless to stop it.

Even then, in spite of the tears that stung at her eyes and the sudden panic that twisted in her gut, she'd forced herself to plant her note with shaking hands, heft Tenten onto her shoulders, and make for this hideout. And she sat here keeping watch, even though she was exhausted and hungry and had someone else's blood on her clothes.

She had been sorely tested and proved her strength and determination. She had suffered, yes, but she didn't mean to give up.

* * *

The Hokage's office was crowded, and everyone had an opinion.

"If we send ANBU in –"

"—has to sleep sometime—"

"—hard-hitting assault by two _taijutsu_ specialists—"

"SHUT UP!" roared Lady Tsunade, pounding a fist down on her desk. A tea mug and several stacks of paperwork bounced onto the floor. "All of you shut up! I can't think when you all talk at once!"

The room's occupants fell silent and looked at her in alarm. At the Hokage's side, shrinking back from her master's outburst, was Sakura, and opposite her stood Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru. What remained of Team Gai was grouped in the center of the room, beside Hinata and a menacing Hyuuga bodyguard. Finally, Shikamaru slouched behind everyone else near the door, clearly ambivalent about his participation in this evening meeting.

"From now on," said Tsunade dangerously, "we all speak one at a time. Understood?"

There were nods all around.

"Good. First, since some of us still haven't heard your information yet, I want you to tell us where you've tracked Hanabi's scent to, Kiba."

Kiba shrugged. "She's in the Forest of Death. She's holed up in that building at the center, where we all took the _chuunin_ exams."

"You're certain of that?"

"Yeah. Akamaru and I didn't get too close, because we could smell some kind of trap, but she's definitely there with Tenten."

Tsunade sighed. "Ordinarily I'd say that the location would give us an advantage, since we could surround the building unobserved, but in this case that doesn't apply. Hanabi's Byakugan will allow her to see attackers who try to hide in the trees."

"That's why it's unwise to try any conventional rescue mission," said Neji. Beside him Gai, who'd been arguing for an immediate attack by his team, looked appalled. "Hanabi-sama will detect any assault long before it reaches her, giving her enough time to harm Tenten or change location. There's no safe way to approach her."

"But Neji-kun," said Lee, "Tenten is our teammate! She is _our_ responsibility! Surely you are not suggesting that we do nothing?"

"Of course I'm not. But we also shouldn't do anything that could get her killed."

Tsunade fixed him with a sharp gaze. "You really think your cousin's that desperate, then? She's only a teenager, after all, and her record until now has been very good. I have a hard time thinking she's capable of killing in cold blood."

Before Neji could answer, Hinata, who had been silent until now, spoke. "She's capable," she said quietly. "I know her better than anyone here. She was trained by our father to do anything necessary to accomplish the mission, and to see other people as a means to that end. She's also confused and in pain. I think she really will hurt Tenten-san if we push her."

Hinata had obviously been awake for too many hours. Her pearly bloodshot eyes were vivid in her drawn face and she swayed on her feet. But her back was held rigidly straight and her hands were balled into fists, evidence of the iron will keeping her upright.

Everyone turned to look at her, and Kiba scowled. "You look terrible, Hinata. You should go home and rest – we'll take care of your sister for you."

She shook her head firmly, her long hair swaying. "No, Kiba, this is my responsibility. Tenten-san has become a victim of my clan's internal struggle, and as the clan head it's up to me to make it right. And in the note Hanabi asked for me – I'm the only one who can go to her."

The Hokage regarded Hinata measuringly. She'd watched her grow from a timid, discarded _genin_ into quietly confident _chuunin_, and now into the leader of Konoha's most important clan. It had to give Tsunade a feeling of vertigo, and age.

"You're right of course, Lady Hyuuga," she said finally. "This matter is as much your responsibility as mine. So you agree with Neji that it's too risky to send a squad to take Tenten back by force?"

"I do. I think we should do exactly as the note requests. I should go to Hanabi and negotiate for Tenten-san's release. If that fails … I-I will engage Hanabi in combat."

Neji made eye contact with Hinata's bodyguard, a Branch House _chuunin_, and saw that they were thinking the same thing: Hinata must not go alone into what was surely a trap. But it would be a tricky thing to say so without undermining her newly-minted authority.

Neji turned to face her and chose his words carefully. "Lady Hyuuga, please allow me to go in your place. Tenten is my teammate, and I would like the be the one to rescue her."

Lee and Gai both made noises of protest at that, until quieted by a threatening gesture from Lady Tsunade. Hinata looked down at the floor, then back up again. "Nii-san, thank you for the offer. But the note asked for me, and if we send someone else Tenten-san will be in danger. And of everyone here, I think I have the best chance of convincing Hanabi to come home. I'll make some kind of offer to her if I have to." She took a deep breath. "You're worried that I won't be able to bring myself to hurt Hanabi, even if it's the only way out of this. It's true my sister's important to me, but so are you, and … I know what Tenten-san means to you. I will do whatever I must save her life. That is a _promise_, nii-san."

Kiba's expression changed to disbelief, while Shino nodded gravely. Lady Tsunade merely looked grim. Into the expectant silence and around a lump in his throat Neji said, "It's not your determination I'm worried about, Lady Hyuuga, but your safety. Hanabi-sama has had hours, maybe longer, to plan this, and will surely be ready for your arrival. If this is a trap she's set for you, then it would be foolish to send you into it. Keeping her off balance is to our advantage."

"But Neji-san," said Sakura, "you said yourself that an attack would put Tenten-san at risk. How is sending you in Hinata's place any different?"

"Good question," said the Hokage.

Neji frowned. "This situation has Jun's fingerprints all over it. Think about it – why, of all the people they could have kidnapped, did they choose Tenten? Why not another Hyuuga, someone Lady Hyuuga would _have_ to be concerned for?"

"It may just have been a matter of convenience," Sakura pointed out. "And if their goal was to force Hinata's hand, it _worked_, didn't it?"

"It worked because Lady Hyuuga doesn't reserve her concern only for members of her own clan. But then anyone would have done, and they chose the person who I … whose absence would be sure to annoy me." In his eagerness to make his argument he'd nearly forgotten himself; Tsunade's eyebrows had hitched up her forehead. Referring to his feelings for Tenten was _not_ going to get him what he wanted. "This was a strike at me as much as at Lady Hyuuga. It was meant to put our interests in conflict. If Lady Hyuuga obeys the note she exposes herself to whatever plan they've made, but if she doesn't her willingness to abandon Tenten drives a wedge between us. Either way they stand to gain." Explaining the plan's treachery, the way it was meant to cause him personal suffering at every turn, filled him with fresh anger.

"That's awfully sophisticated thinking for a fourteen-year-old," said Tsunade. "And even if you're right, it still doesn't mean Hanabi will be willing to speak with you."

"That's why I say this situation was clearly arranged by Jun. He's been the one pulling the strings, taking advantage of Hanabi-sama's desire to lead her clan. The fact that he tried to split me from Hinata-sama is a clear indication that he thought I was manipulating her." He paused. "That is untrue, of course, but what's important is what Jun believed, and what he may have told Hanabi-sama. She's alone now, probably frightened, and might waver enough to deviate from their original plan and talk to me, especially if she thinks I have special influence over Lady Hyuuga."

The Hokage sat back. "Shikamaru!" she called. "Have you been listening? What do you think about all this?"

Shikamaru was making a close examination of the ceiling tiles. "Makes sense to me," he replied with a shrug. "Everything fits. But there's still no guarantee Hanabi'll agree to talk to Neji. She might react violently if she sees him coming."

Neji had given some thought to that eventuality. "Hanabi-sama and I will be able to see one another from a great distance. If she's unwilling to speak to me, I'll be able to tell long before I approach the building. You could send a backup squad to move in in that case."

Tsunade folded her arms. "Well?" she asked Shikamaru.

He finally looked down from the ceiling. "As a general principle it's best not to let the enemy choose all the circumstances of an engagement. But the risk to Hinata if she goes and the risk to Tenten if she doesn't are about equal. It all depends on variables I can't evaluate, like Hanabi's state of mind."

Tsunade nodded. "That being the case, I'll leave the decision up to the person here who knows Hanabi best, and who's most directly responsible for her." The Hokage's eyes shifted and hardened. "The choice is yours, Lady Hyuuga."

It wasn't only about the mission, Neji knew; by consulting with Hinata the Hokage was publicly recognizing her leadership. It was good to know his cousin had such a powerful ally.

Hinata cleared her throat. "Nii-san, if you go, what are your plans? Do you mean to … kill my sister?"

"Not unless it's absolutely necessary. First I'll try to do what you suggested – talk to her. And even if we fight, you know I'm capable of disabling her without taking her life. That's what I'll do, if I possibly can."

Kiba made a rude noise. "Sorry Neji, but I don't think compassion's exactly your strong suit. We've all _seen_ what you do to family when they make you angry. You can probably beat Hanabi, but your chances of persuading her are pretty small."

Neji's gaze flicked over to the dog-nin, who met his icy glare steadily. It seemed Kiba had never quite forgiven him for his teenaged crimes. He bit back the first angry retort that occurred to him and instead said, "Things change, Kiba. For the past several months I have been training in _compassion_ with Hinata-sama, and I learn quickly."

That shut him up. It was satisfying to see the stunned look on the dog-nin's face.

Hinata took a deep breath, and immediately Neji forgot Kiba and turned back to her. "I cannot help but feel responsible for this situation," she began, "and I don't want anyone else to take risks on my behalf." Neji's heart sank. "But … there's no denying that Neji-nii san will have the better chance of performing a rescue successfully. Tenten-san is an innocent and her safety must come first. So I'll let nii-san go in my place."

"Lady Hyuuga," said Neji, "I promise I'll—"

She held up a hand to stop him. "Neji-nii san will go in first," she continued, "and we will move slowly and watch Hanabi's reaction. If it seems she will not allow him to proceed, then I will go instead. And … if the Hokage agrees, it might help to have a backup squad, just in case."

Lady Tsunage nodded briskly. "Sounds like a good idea," she said. "It's good to be prepared for every contingency."

"Lee and I volunteer!" said Gai immediately. "We want to do everything we can to help Tenten!"

"I'm coming," said Kiba flatly. "In case that little brat tries anything."

"I also volunteer," said Shino, the first words he'd spoken for the entire meeting.

"Me too," said Sakura.

"Not me," said Shikamaru. Everyone looked at him. "What?" he asked defensively. "There's already more than enough of you to pull this off. Any more team members would be a real pain."

"It's set then," said Tsunade. "Neji will try to negotiate with or incapacitate Hanabi, and Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Gai, Lee, and Sakura will go as backup. You'll go in the morning – the deadline's not until sunset tomorrow, so that gives everyone time to rest. All of you should go home now and get some sleep."

This last comment was clearly meant for Hinata, who seemed likely to collapse at any moment. Neji was feeling pretty exhausted himself, having experienced joy, shock, grief, rage, and fear all in a single day. Nevertheless he fully expected to be kept awake through the night by anxiety and eagerness.

As it turned out, though, he managed to find a few hours' sleep right before dawn. It was a fitful sleep, troubled by dreams in which he kept trying to reach out toward Tenten and succeeded only in pushing her farther away.

**A/N: There's only one more chapter, and perhaps an epilogue, left to go. Thanks again to everyone who's been reviewing -- your support and commentary have been a big help!**


	13. Another Family Jutsu

Daylight did not penetrate the Forest of Death. Overhead the sun would be ascending a clear blue sky, but beneath the canopy the trees cast shadows as dense as night. The leafy darkness echoed with the hunting calls of predators and the dying wails of prey, and the air smelled of damp and rot.

Tenten's rescuers moved swiftly from branch to branch, pausing once in a while to dispatch some creature foolish enough to get in their way. As _genin_ they'd all found this place intimidating, but now it posed no threat. Part of growing up in the shinobi world was learning that other people were far more dangerous than any product of nature.

Half a kilometer out from the central building they halted and gathered at the base of a towering oak.

"I see them," said Neji, looking through his Byakugan. "They are in the main room, where we held the preliminary rounds of the _chuunin_ finals. Tenten is alive and—" his shoulders sagged a bit "—unharmed."

"What about Hanabi? Has she detected us?" Sakura was outfitted for battle, with a full medical kit strapped to her back.

"Yes," Hinata replied softly, her _kekkei genkai _also active. "She's seen us. She's looking at us now."

Neji saw her too, a lean short figure beside the bound Tenten. Tenten was conscious and struggling against her bonds, clearly aware something was happening. Hanabi meanwhile focused outward, veins bulging as she used her Byakugan to examine each member of the rescue party in turn.

Deliberately Hanabi reached into her thigh holster and withdrew a _kunai_. She moved to stand behind Tenten and place the knife at her throat. The message could not have been clearer.

"She's threatening Tenten. She doesn't want us to come any closer." Neji could see Tenten's mouth moving now, and though he couldn't read lips her fierce expression gave him a good idea of what she might be saying. Something flared inside him in response to the look of fire on her face.

"Then we'll stop here," said Gai. As planned he and the other members of the squad arranged themselves in a line and sat down, leaving only Neji and Hinata on their feet.

In the next moment Hanabi nodded and withdrew the _kunai_, though she did not put it away. "She understood the signal," Hinata announced. "She's agreed to let you all wait here."

Then Hanabi looked hard at her sister, her face contorting and her chakra intensifying. She reached out and beckoned: _Come_.

They had designed a piece of theater to communicate with Hanabi and request a change of plans. Neji extended his right arm straight out to the side and gently pushed his cousin back, and then she knelt down beside the others. He took a step forward and held up his hands questioningly. _Is this all right?_

Hanabi scowled, her heart rate quickening. She hadn't expected this and seemed at a loss.

"She needs more encouragement, nii-san," said Hinata. "More assurance of your peaceful intentions."

"Right." Without breaking eye contact Neji carefully reached down and unstrapped his _shuriken_ holster, letting it fall with a muffled _thud _to the forest floor. Just as slowly he shed his pack and the myriad small weapons hidden on his body, until at last he was completely unarmed. He raised his empty hands for Hanabi to see.

She bit her lower lip, and with an abrupt spasmodic movement bid him to come forward.

"It's all right," breathed Hinata. "She'll talk to him." The feeling in her voice was less relief than resignation – her impulse to personally deal with her sister had been strong, and it would take an altogether different kind of skill to stay behind and wait.

"I'm going then," said Neji. He did not turn around.

"Neji, be careful." Gai's voice was heavy and serious, devoid of its usual exuberance. "If she's consented to speak with you, then it must be because she thinks whatever trap she's set will be just as effective against you as Hinata. You're walking into grave danger."

"I know that, sensei. Trust me, I have no intention of dying before I get to Tenten." His 360-degree vision gave him a clear view of Lee and Gai's taut faces; they cared about Tenten almost as much as he did. "I'll get her out."

Solemnly Lee saluted, while Gai gave a thumbs-up and said, "When bolstered by love the spirit of youth is truly unconquerable." His toothy grin took on a feral aspect in the shadowy half-light.

"Hn." Neji set off, pushing ahead through the dense underbrush toward the heart of the Forest. Behind him he heard Hinata and the others calling out their best wishes, until he shut out the sound of their voices to focus on the task at hand.

Hanabi was still watching him avidly, her fear mounting with his every step. Two hundred meters from the building he came to the traps Kiba had spoken of, a web of tripwires and paper bombs woven among the trees. It was sloppily done, obvious even to the naked eye, but thorough enough to form a barrier. Neji came to a halt, met his cousin's eyes, and raised his eyebrows. _Well?_

Hanabi mimed attaching something to her body, a gesture he had to think about briefly before he understood it. Glancing around he soon found what he needed, a paper bomb strung up at eye level, which he carefully cut free using the _chousen_. On inspecting the little tag he felt a jolt of recognition – the writing was unmistakably Tenten's. She'd long ago stopped using generic explosives in favor of creating her own, with an utterly unique set of whorls and dashes. Evidently Hanabi hadn't just confiscated Tenten's weapons but opted to use them in the construction of a perimeter.

In accordance with his cousin's wishes Neji tucked the paper bomb into his robes, against the right side of his rib cage. Hanabi saw his compliance and nodded stiffly.

Neji picked his way through the tripwires, knowing his cousin had no reason to detonate them now that he wore her bomb on his body. From there his way to the building was clear, and in a matter of minutes he had reached the outer doors. He pushed through and strode quickly down the corridors toward the great central hall, the place where he'd once tried to kill Hinata and would now face her younger sister.

And then he was there, stepping across a threshold to see Hanabi facing him, her shaking hands clasped together in a hand sign.

"Not another step," she called. "Come any closer and I'll blow you up – I'm all set to do it."

"Yes, I see that," Neji replied calmly. "But it's going to be difficult to talk like this – we're rather far apart." From his perspective Hanabi and Tenten were against the far wall, with the whole expanse of the hall's floor between them and him. He didn't much want to conduct a negotiation by shouting.

Hanabi's brow furrowed. "All right, you can come closer. But if you try anything, or if your chakra flow looks like you're about to perform a jutsu, I'll kill you."

"I don't doubt it." He moved forward cautiously, finally allowing himself to meet Tenten's eyes. She was seated on the ground with her hands and feet tied in front of her, an expression of hot fury on her face. He quashed a sudden urge to reach for her. "Tenten, are you all right? You don't appear to be wounded."

Her face was livid with pent-up frustration. "No, she didn't hurt me. _I'm_ the one who inflicted the injuries. That old man – is he …?"

"Jun is dead." There was no reason to hide it. "No one blames you; you did what you had to."

"Didn't help much. He still managed to put me out, and then _this _brat took my weapons and tied me up. Damn, I _hate_ being rescued! Next time I get to play the hero."

"Agreed. We'll just have to find someone to kidnap Lee."

She couldn't quite suppress a snicker. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"What _I_ know is there's not going to _be_ a next time if you don't meet my demands!"

The rage in Hanabi's voice was a marked contrast to the tremulous determination she'd spoken with only a moment ago; Neji was puzzled by the change until Tenten rolled her eyes said, "Couldn't handle being ignored while the adults talked, could you? You really _are_ fourteen."

Like most Hyuuga, Hanabi got whiter as she grew angrier, and her face was now the color of new linen. Neji saw chakra pooling in her hands in preparation for a _juuken_ strike.

"Hanabi!" he said sharply. "If it's my attention you want, you've got it. Didn't you do all this so we could negotiate?"

With visible effort she calmed herself and forced her chakra to return to normal. But the spurt of rage seemed to have obliterated her fear. "You know what I want, nii-san. I want what's rightfully mine; I want to lead our clan."

"Rightfully yours? Hinata-sama is the elder daughter and was chosen by your father. You have as much _right_ to lead as I do – none."

"Birthright didn't stop you from taking over, did it? What matters is strength, the kind we both have. That's why I decided to let you come instead – Jun-san told me where the real power in this clan lies!"

Neji bowed his head slightly. Tenten looked from one Hyuuga to the other, transfixed. "If that is what Jun told you," he said quietly, "then he did us both a disservice. I am here as Hinata-sama's representative, not her puppet-master, and my motive is not control but loyalty. What is _your_ motive?"

"The good of the clan and the village."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's just a slogan. You're only regurgitating things you heard from Jun and your father."

She scowled deeply. "Don't speak to me like a child, nii-san, and don't underestimate me."

"Fine. If you want to be an adult then be one, and stop being a mindless tool for others."

"A tool? That's you, not me!"

He shook his head. "I said a _mindless_ tool. Helping Hinata-sama accomplish her goals is something I chose, freely. But you have been manipulated without even knowing it, first by your father and then by Jun. Your father treated you as nothing more than spare parts, a replacement for a weak heir, and Jun considered you his path to power. He wanted to control you in the same way he thought I was controlling your sister. They were both wrong to use you that way, but you were wrong to allow it. You can correct your error now by ending this."

Hanabi's pupils dilated as she momentarily looked beyond him, into her memories of the past. She was probably searching for one genuine moment, one uncalculated conversation that might contradict him. She frowned slightly, not finding it. "Even if you're right," she said finally, "and my father and Jun did use me, submitting to Hinata-nee san won't change anything. I'll still be used– by her."

Half a kilometer away Hinata stared in their direction and wrung her hands anxiously, watching and watched by both of them. "Is that such a bad fate?" Neji asked. "She begged me to spare you, Hanabi, even after you betrayed her. She's willing to let you go if that's what you want, because in the end your happiness means more to her than your obedience. She loves you; do you feel nothing for her?"

His words struck a chord – she took in a sharp breath and her bottom lip quivered. Hinata had been the only one to treat her as a family member first and the presumptive heir second, the only flicker of light in that dark house. This betrayal had not come easy.

But then she squared her shoulders and clenched her fists, and through the movement of chakra he could practically _see_ her pushing back against her feelings, burying them underneath layers of icy resolve. This, he thought bitterly, was as much a part of the Hyuuga heritage as the Byakugan – he himself had done it any number of times. Hyuuga did not allow themselves to be swayed by trivial considerations like love.

"You're clever," she said in a cold voice containing echoes of her father. "I guess I already knew that. But you're right – it's time I stop being manipulated. Maybe my sister could settle for something like love or freedom, but I _know_ what I want. I want to lead our clan, not because Father or Jun told me I should, but because it's what I was meant to do. I know it, and I won't give up just because others stop believing in me."

"You really mean that?"

"Yes!"

"Then let Tenten go. She's served her purpose, and now you have me, with this." He pulled back a fold of his robe to display the explosive tag tucked into the fabric. Tenten's eyes widened as she recognized her own workmanship. "It's clear that I won't be able to resolve this by talking – you need to speak with your sister, the elders, perhaps even the Hokage. I am valuable to the clan and will be more than sufficient as a bargaining chip. Let Tenten go."

She actually appeared to be considering it, which surprised him. "No," she said at last. "No, keeping her will make it easier to control you, too. I'm going to signal to my sister now, so that she'll come to me herself."

Hanabi's attention shifted away, and in that instant of distraction Neji looked at Tenten and nodded.

Tenten's hands were bound in front of her at the wrist, a bad mistake on Hanabi's part that left her able to make hand signs. Quickly she produced a specific sequence of them, frowning with concentration. Too late Hanabi noticed something; she whirled around just as the paper bomb in Neji's clothing detonated.

He felt a scorching sensation in his side and was knocked off his feet by the force of the explosion. He flew sideways and landed with a crunch, rolling a few times before coming to a halt on his back.

Bright stars flared across his vision and a sharp pain in his left forearm told him it was probably fractured. His right side was a mess, an expanse of agony that reeked of burned clothing and flesh. There could be no question that he was injured.

But he was alive.

He lay still a moment, surveying his surroundings. Hanabi was just picking herself up off the floor, and Tenten, still tied, was frantically writhing and yelling.

"Neji! _Neji!_ Talk to me – are you all right? Neji!"

"You blew him up," said Hanabi numbly. "How could you? I thought you—"

She didn't get a chance to complete that thought; as soon as Neji had a fix on her he raised himself up on his left elbow, extended his right arm, and cried "_Hakke kusho!_"

Hanabi was lifted and hurled against the wall, crumpling to the floor in a tangled heap. Neji lost no time in altering his chakra output to produce a single _chousen_ ray and sever Tenten's bonds.

In an instant she was at his side, kneeling down and examining his injuries critically. A crazy thought occurred to him then, that much of the upper half of his robes had been blasted away and he should try to cover himself. Of course as his teammate Tenten had seen him shirtless any number of times, and at the moment he was covered in burns, but he still found it hard to watch her eyes scanning up and down his chest.

"Superficial," she declared. "I'm no medic, but I think you'll be fine. For a second I thought I'd failed in redirecting the blast."

"I have to admit, I thought you'd have a little more control over it."

"Neji, for a bomb that's pinpoint accuracy."

"Oh."

From over by the wall came a small noise; Hanabi was rising shakily. She was bleeding from the nose and mouth but the fierceness in her eyes made it clear she wasn't beaten yet.

Tenten's face darkened as she turned to face her erstwhile captor. She threw back her shoulders and lifted her chin. "I've got this, Neji. I _owe_ her." As she started forward Neji caught her arm.

"Don't," he said, struggling to get up. "Leave it to me."

"Don't be stupid, Neji, you've done enough and you're hurt. I may not have my weapons but I promise I can still take her down."

"It's not that. It's just that this is a family affair, and there is something else I want to try first. Lady Hyuuga wants me to spare her sister."

He'd succeeded in sitting up now, though contracting the muscles in his chest and core hurt like a fresh burn. Hanabi had taken the Gentle Fist stance, evidently judging it wiser to wait than to charge at them head-on. Tenten glanced back and her brown eyes seemed to bore into his soul.

"This isn't like before, Neji," she said firmly, implicitly understanding the eerie resonances this place and situation held for him. "Hanabi's no innocent and you're no monster. She needs to go down."

"I know that." He panted for a moment and then pushed himself to his feet in a single excruciating motion. Once he was standing he felt a bit better, as the blood drained down from the site of his injuries and the feeling there dulled.

The sight of him standing and essentially whole alarmed Hanabi; in a sharp voice she demanded, "How are you still alive, nii-san?"

"It was reckless of you to use a tool you didn't fully understand," he replied. "Didn't that paper bomb look odd to you?"

"Symbols on paper. They're all the same."

Tenten snorted. "Typical _taijutsu_ type, no respect for your weapons. That bomb was one I designed myself, to make it possible to control the direction of the blast with my chakra. The standard ones are too unpredictable."

Understanding dawned on Hanabi's face. "So you were able to direct the blast away from nii-san's body. I've never heard of that before."

"Tenten is the only shinobi capable of it. You underestimated her because she's not one of our clan. That's one of any number of mistakes you made, all of them from inexperience. It should be obvious to you that you aren't ready to lead yet. End this now, and come back with me to help your sister reshape the future of our family." Neji offered his hand to her, silently willing her to take it.

Hanabi's eyes were totally blank. "I _did _make a mistake," she admitted. "But I'm like you, nii-san. I learn fast." She swung her arm to the right and let off a blast of chakra, a _hakke kusho_ so swift he hadn't even seen her preparing it. She aimed it not at him, but at Tenten.

He didn't have to think; his chakra seemed to flow on its own. From his palm he emitted his own _kusho_ that neatly intercepted his cousin's in a vortex of energy and air. As the chakra faded he decided that his tactic of last resort, which he'd hoped fervently to avoid, would indeed be required. The knowledge was as heavy and final as a gravestone.

"Tenten," he said coolly, not lowering his hand, "I must ask you to do something for me."

She was unfazed by Hanabi's attack. "Of course. You know you can count on me."

"Yes I do. That's why I know you'll understand when I ask you to go outside."

Even Hanabi, who was still in her fighting stance, looked surprised. "The hell I will!" said Tenten hotly. "_You're_ the one who's injured, and you're trying to spare me? If either of us should face her it's me!"

It took all his discipline not to meet her eyes; he knew that if he did so he would lose the strength to do what was necessary. "Even injured she's no match for me, Tenten, and in spite of Lady Hyuuga's wishes I think now it would be a mistake to disable her and bring her home. She'd just do this again and again, a constant threat to everyone around her. I mean to end this permanently and I don't want you to see it."

Tenten blanched. "If you're going to do something you'll regret then I should stay. We can just knock her out and let her be someone else's problem."

"No, this is my burden. I owe it to Lady Hyuuga to resolve this here, and if I succeed no one else will ever be cursed again."

It was a calculated move, playing on her affection for him and her memories of his torment by Hiashi. He felt like scum for doing it but there was no other way to persuade her.

She swallowed. "Neji, if—if she gives up and agrees to obey her sister—"

"Then no harm will come to her."

There was a long pause during which all three of them stayed frozen in place and tension arced between them like electrical current.

Finally Tenten exhaled noisily. "All right. I'll leave and let you … finish this. I know you'll do the right thing." With that she started backing toward the door.

Neji remained fixed on his cousin as she tracked Tenten's progress. "Let her go," he warned. "You won't like the consequences if you don't."

Hanabi's attention snapped back to him. "Fine," she said. The sound of Tenten's footsteps was now receding down the hall. "It's better this way, isn't it? You want her gone so you can kill me, and if I beat you in combat the entire clan will have to acknowledge my strength. You're trying to scare me but I _won't_ back down." The pitch of her voice had climbed but she stood her ground, straight-backed and brave.

It was too much; the sense of _déjà vu_ threatened to overwhelm him. "You are more like Hinata-sama than you know," he told her.

She scowled at the apparent non sequiter. "I'm not like her at all. I'm a _lot_ stronger. You may have bullied her, but you can't bully me!"

She charged him then, with a speed that rivaled Lee's. She meant to hit his _tenketsu_ and disable his jutsu in one decisive pass, and she had deliberately chosen to come at him from his burned right side. Her strategy was sound and her form was impressive.

But not impressive enough – the difference in their abilities was simply too great. She couldn't lay a hand on him, and with one blow to the shoulder he sent her reeling back in pain. She grimaced and gasped for air, before launching herself at him once more.

Her strikes were sloppier now, because Neji had disrupted the chakra network in her shoulder. She kept trying to force an opening with her injured arm and follow up from the other side, leaving her center unprotected. He landed another hit on her torso and swept her legs out from under her, throwing her flat on her back. Then, before she could rise, he leaned, held his hands out over her body, and activated the _chousen_.

Rays emanated from his palms, fingertips, and forearms. Only a few months ago this sort of control would have been beyond him, but by now he had achieved complete mastery. Hanabi gasped as chakra rays came into being around her face and neck, arms and legs. They outlined her body like the bars of a cage, and their intensity could be seen in the way they drilled tiny holes in the floor.

"Don't move," said Neji. "If you touch them you'll be sliced to pieces." To prove his point he shifted one of the rays to barely brush against her leg, where it made a perfectly straight cut like a line of red ink. She winced but remained still.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked through gritted teeth. "Didn't you tell your teammate you were going to finish this for good?"

"And I meant it."

"Then _do_ it!"

She spoke with wrath and bravado, but the racing of her heart betrayed her. "Do you see," said Neji quietly, "that you have no way of beating me? Tenten is gone and you are completely at my mercy. I can kill you now, and while Lady Hyuuga might be unhappy about it she would have to concede it was justified."

Hanabi's breath came in shallow gasps. "If you think it's right," she spat, "then just go ahead. You're not the kind to hesitate, are you? You'll actually be doing me a favor, _nii-san_, because I'd rather be dead than have no purpose and no place to go."

He nodded. "That's what I thought. This isn't about the future of the clan or the curse mark, is it? It's about you having no role now that your father's gone. Your sister's taken your place in the family and you're lost."

"No one needs me." The words sounded as though they'd been ripped from her gut. "I'm _extra_, the way Hinata was, and I can't bear it." Another person, another fourteen-year-old girl, would have been crying by now, but Hanabi's eyes stayed dry. "So you'd better kill me, because if you don't I'll do whatever it takes to become important to the family again."

Neji felt something click into place within him like the tumbling of a lock. He was calm and utterly at peace. "There has been enough suffering already," he said expressionlessly. "I cannot allow this to continue." Hanabi turned her gaze to the ceiling and clenched her jaw.

Then all the rays of the _chousen_ winked out.

Her eyes flicked downward, darting all around in search of the vanished chakra. She still didn't move, obviously suspecting a trap, and at last looked her question into Neji's impassive face.

"It's no trick," he assured her. "Why would I need such a thing?"

Tentatively she moved an arm, then a leg. Seeing that her limbs sustained no injury, she sat up. Her white-faced rage had been supplanted by total confusion. "I don't understand."

"Isn't it obvious? I have no intention of killing you. I never did."

"But … you said …"

"I told Tenten I needed her to leave so I could bring a permanent end to this situation. You and she interpreted my words in the same way, and I didn't correct you. Tenten would never have agreed to go if I'd let her know my true intentions."

Her forehead wrinkled. "Which are?"

"To give you what you want. You said yourself that you wouldn't stop until you were important to the family again. I can't make you the clan leader, but I _can_ give you a position of influence and responsibility." He paused. "Mine."

She stared at him.

"Think about it," he said impatiently. "After me you have the strongest Byakugan in the clan. You know that our family is a nest of snakes, that Hinata-sama needs someone skilled and ruthless at her side if she wants to change it. Right now that role is mine, and it's given me more power than I ever wanted." He thought with distaste of the elder Hideaki's obvious jealously. "If I was gone the natural heir to my position would be you. You'd be the strongest of all the Hyuuga and your sister's right hand. You'd be indispensable."

She frowned slightly; he could see her mulling it over. "That's only if you're gone," she said slowly. "As long as you're around no one will ever look to me."

"That's correct. That's why I arranged for us to be alone here, to give you the chance to take my life."

Her mouth worked soundlessly, opening and closing several times before managing to form words. "T-take your life?"

"Yes. If you defeat me you will impress the elders and convince them of your strength. You can go outside to your sister and tell her I threatened you after you surrendered, forcing you to kill me. You can tell her the experience made you have a change of heart, or any other story you choose. But she's watching all of this right now, so we'll have to make it look good. If you come at me once more I'll do a sloppy job of defending myself and allow you to strike a fatal blow."

She regarded him searchingly. Against her suspicion he stayed cool and matter-of-fact. "How do you know I won't just kill you and then go after my sister?" she demanded. "Hinata-nee san would be a much easier target without you around."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. But before I consent to die I would of course ask for your word that you will support your sister. It's true you could lie, but I don't think you will. Your courage resembles Hinata-sama's, but in the end you're far more like me. Even at my darkest and most bitter, I was never the kind of person who would let someone surrender their life to me under false pretenses."

"You're right," she replied after a moment. "I wouldn't do that."

"I know. We are very much alike. And those times when I was most lost, it took a total defeat, followed by kindness I did not deserve, to help me find my way again. Your sister was one of those to offer me this blessing, and though I can't approach her skill in this, even a fraction of it should be enough to save you both."

She swallowed, and he held her gaze relentlessly. He wasn't really sure what he'd do if she refused him and clung to her insistence on leading the clan – knock her out, probably, and consult with Hinata later. He didn't want to die, he'd never had more reasons to live, but this was the only solution he could think of that didn't wind up with Hanabi dead. He didn't want to be like his uncle, who'd allowed others to make sacrifices for the good of the family, but rather like his father and cousin, who'd done it themselves.

Trembling violently, Hanabi drew a _kunai_ from her holster and gripped it tightly in her right hand. She raised it in a standard attack position. "All right, nii-san. I agree to your plan."

"You understand that my motive is not fear of your power, which I have already defeated, nor any special merit of yours – that you haven't done anything to force or deserve this?"

"Yes."

"And you give your word that you'll concede the leadership of the Hyuuga clan to Hinata-sama and support her in her efforts to change our family?"

"Yes."

He took a deep breath and pictured Tenten's face clearly. He wished he'd thought to say something to her before she left, some kind of farewell or confession, but for her sake it was probably better he hadn't. "So long as we understand each other," he said, hearing the words as though from outside himself, "I am ready."

She set her mouth in a hard determined line and lunged, bringing the _kunai_ forward in an arc aimed at his heart. He made a defensive move, a lightning-quick grab for her arm, so that to the watching Hinata he would appear to be a full participant in this fight.

Except that he ended up with Hanabi's free hand gripping his elbow and her face mere inches from his, the _kunai_ suspended between them like a hawk mid-dive. She clutched at him painfully and gasped, "I can't … I just can't …" The weapon fell from her hand, ringing against the floor with a high melodious sound.

Neji stood frozen, slow to process the truth that he wasn't dead. Eventually he became aware of a noise, a gut-wrenching howl of misery echoing off the walls and reverberating through the room. It came from Hanabi, who had released him and stumbled backward to bury her face in her hands. She was crying at last, great sobs tearing from her throat to rack her whole body.

It was terrible to see and at first he wanted to turn away. That was wrong, though – it was not what Hinata would have done, and having come here prepared to die it made no sense to run from a few tears. He considered briefly, then gingerly reached out to pat his cousin's head. She took no notice.

He cleared his throat. "It's all right, Hanabi-sama. You'll be all right. No one will think you weak for this decision. They all know that it's much harder to put down your weapon and choose to face uncertainty. But I swear, you won't have to do it alone." He thought of Tenten and Hinata and all the others, comrades and loved ones waiting for them outside, and added, "Neither will I."

**A/N: This is the final chapter; an epilogue will follow soon. Thanks to all readers and reviewers!**


	14. Epilogue

The night was cold and clear, shot through with silver light like the glint off a blade. Neji stood taking deep breaths, trying to find a moment of peace after the cacophony inside. Hinata had rented a grand old hall for the reception, built in the traditional style with a small, meticulously kept garden in the back, and from the little porch where he stood he could just barely make out a few ghostly koi in the ornamental pond. They swam sedately, cocooned in water and tranquility.

Footsteps sounded behind him, a light tread he would know anywhere. It was oddly arrhythmic now, though, and somewhat muffled. Neji turned to see Tenten shuffling toward him with difficulty, obviously unused to the constricting confines of a kimono. Wordlessly he reached out to her.

"This _stinks_," she panted, accepting his help with a disgruntled expression. "I can hardly move."

She had changed out of the white kimono she wore during the actual wedding ceremony into a more festive scarlet one, embellished with gold thread and painted white cranes. According to Hinata cranes were an auspicious symbol because they mated for life, and she'd been keen on dressing Tenten in something decorated with them. These clothes, like the rented hall, the feast being served to the guests, and every other component of the wedding, were a gift from Lady Hyuuga. It was an act of extravagance from which Neji and Tenten had failed to dissuade her.

"No no, nii-san, don't worry about it," she'd said with a smile. "These have been difficult years, and I'm glad to have a reason to celebrate. It isn't every day that my cousin gets married."

Neji disliked public displays and had rather hoped for something small and private, but Lady Hyuuga insisted. She'd developed an indirect forcefulness, a subtly steely aspect that made it difficult to refuse her. Against the woman who'd overridden all the elders to unite the Main and Branch families and destroy the clan's ancient sealing jutsu, he never stood a chance. In the end he relented.

He was rather glad he had; Tenten had grown up as an orphan, given nothing more than the bare minimum for survival, and despite her protestations he could tell she was enjoying all the pampering. And she was radiant now – Hinata had good taste.

"You look beautiful," he told her, not letting her go.

She blushed so deeply he could see it even in this light, and took back her hand. "It's the _obi_," she replied, referring to her elaborately tied belt. "Those dressers tied it too tight, so I look thinner than I actually am."

She was unused to compliments that didn't relate to _ninjutsu_, a failing for which Neji knew he was largely responsible. It wasn't that he didn't think such things fairly often, it was that he rarely gave voice to them. Well, he'd have a whole lifetime to fix it. Tenten was lovely and he'd make sure she knew it.

"Stop _staring_ at me!" she snapped, reddening even more. "Why did you come out here, anyway?"

Neji tore his gaze away from his new wife and gestured out into the garden. "To see this, and clear my head. It was pretty loud in there." Within the hall, it seemed that half of Konoha had assembled to celebrate, and they grew more and more raucous as the sake flowed. And of course they all had to see the happy couple, to congratulate them. Neji had been hugged more times in the last couple hours than the whole rest of his life, and his skin was _still _crawling. People also kept kissing Tenten on the cheek, which made him irrationally angry for reasons he didn't care to contemplate. All in all it was a desperately uncomfortable occasion.

Tenten sighed. "It's about to get worse. Gai-sensei is going to … recite a poem for us."

He looked at her in horror. "You don't mean one of his haikus, do you? Because they're not any better than Lee's."

"Oh no," she said grimly. "I don't mean one of them. I mean a whole _series_ of them, linked together, that he and Lee are going to recite together. Apparently they've designed some sort of … interpretive movements to go with them."

It was too horrible to imagine. Neji considered grabbing Tenten and fleeing now, then realized there was no running from a hall full of ninjas.

"We could give Lee some alcohol," he suggested. "Then no one will be able to think about poetry."

She shook her head, her hair ornaments tinkling slightly. "Bad idea. If he destroys the hall Hinata will have to pay for it."

"Of course. I didn't think of that."

"That's why you have me."

He turned away to cast one last longing look at the koi, then gasped in surprise as he felt Tenten pressing herself against his back, her arms around his chest and her chin on his shoulder. "I came out here to warn you," she whispered, "that if I have to sit through that performance alone I'll be forced to kill you." She gripped him a little tighter, and suddenly he noticed a sharp pain in his lower back.

"Tenten, are you _armed_ under that thing?"

She chuckled, which he could feel as a wave rippling down her body. Her breath was hot on his ear. "Later I'll let you find out the answer for yourself." Then she released him and spun around to shuffle back inside, leaving him to follow on his own.

The blood was pounding in his ears so loudly he almost didn't hear it, a slight noise like the rattle of leaves on pavement. Instantly he refocused, channeling chakra to his ears and seeking the source of the sound. _There _it was, behind him and to the left, a rapid heartbeat and careful shallow breathing, like someone trying to sneak up on him. It was moving closer.

In the next second he whirled, coming about to face his attacker, naturally falling into the _juuken_ stance. But in the space where his assailant should be there was nothing.

"A murder at a wedding is a bad omen," said a thin clear voice, and then the darkness seemed to thicken, gradually taking the form of a slim girl. She too stood ready for combat, and her face was concealed behind an animal mask –a bird. But her tone was light as she added, "Particularly if it's committed by the groom."

"Hn." Neji dropped his pose and scowled. There was no mistaking that long dark hair or the milky pupils staring out at him through the mask's eyeholes. "Hanabi-sama. Why did you feel it necessary to sneak up on me?"

She also relaxed her stance, then reached up with a black-gloved hand to push her mask up onto her head. The moonlight reflected off her bare white shoulders. She was sixteen, a new _jounin_ and the youngest current member of ANBU, and at the moment, with the night leaching the world of color, she looked like a study in charcoal.

"Only to see if it was possible," she replied. "But I forgot about your enhanced hearing, all those skills you learned while you were blind. I won't forget again."

"Of course not." She was oddly striking in her gray and black ANBU gear. "And that technique you just used – some kind of _genjutsu_?"

"Transformation, actually. You take on the aspect of whatever's behind you."

"I see." Something occurred to him, a rather embarrassing thought. "How long have you been there?"

"I wanted to congratulate both you and Tenten-san, but I realized that would be … inadvisable."

"Hn." He did _not_ like the idea of being watched at such an intimate moment.

Hanabi cocked her head. "Don't worry, nii-san. It's not as if you were doing anything wrong, and the ANBU know how to keep secrets anyway."

That wasn't the point, of course, but he decided to let it pass. It wasn't as if she'd meant to intrude. "You know, you could have congratulated us much more easily if you'd attended the ceremony or the reception. Lady Hyuuga was looking for you."

"I had a mission. And this sort of thing isn't for me, anyway. It's not for you either, but I guess you had no choice."

"No, I didn't. But as for whether it suits me or not—things change. For everyone."

She regarded him carefully as a silence stretched between them. With someone else such a moment would be uncomfortable, but Neji felt totally at ease with his younger cousin in a way few others did. He understood her as he understood himself, and he was certain that right now she was thinking back on the past, to the events two years ago and all that had changed since then.

Hanabi had come home, had received punishment from the village and forgiveness from her sister, and then moved beyond them both to become a fine ninja in her own right. She was the silent presence at Hinata's side, the first choice for missions of stealth and espionage, the deadly Hyuuga of the shadows. It was a role Neji might have chosen for himself, had things worked out differently, but his life now was far too bright and public for that. It was not without envy that he returned her scrutiny.

"Well, congratulations nii-san," she said at last. "I am happy for you."

"Thank you."

"I will, of course, continue to keep our secret."

She was referring to the events in the Forest of Death, to what had passed between them in that empty building. No one but them knew it in its entirety, not even the Hokage. Naturally they all had their suspicions, particularly Tenten, who'd left Neji believing he was determined to kill, and Hinata, who'd seen their abortive fight, but ultimately they had no choice but to accept the cousins' story -- Hanabi had had a change of heart prompted by a late-blooming loyalty to her sister.

It was essentially true, anyway, minus a few details. Details that could make serious trouble for Neji if Tenten ever found out, and embarrass Hanabi before her stoic ANBU comrades … They both had their reasons for keeping silent. Meanwhile the shared secret formed a bond between them that only strengthened with time.

"I never doubted you would," he replied. "I'm not sure if Tenten trusts you yet, but I do."

She gave a very small smile. "That's enough, then. I actually like the idea that everyone else considers me dangerous." Her weight shifted, a subtle change in body position, and then she pushed off and leaped into the night. Neji watched her go, until she transformed once more and merged with the darkness.

Then he went back inside, to the noise and the light.

**A/N: This is the end, at last. Special thanks to reviewers mafalda157, Maerchen Freunde, Afictionado, and StarCatcher1858, who were all kind enough to review multiple times and at great length. Thanks also to my other reviewers -- everyone's comments and reactions were incredibly helpful. Without your support I doubt I could have finished a story of this length, as it's more than twice the size of anything else I've written. You people kept me motivated for every chapter. Originally I planned to make this a three-shot, but the story kept demanding more. I hope this fluff is satisfactory for the Nejiten fans, as I don't consider myself much of a fluff writer ... Thanks again, and I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! **


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